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THE 
 
 REVOLT OF THE BEES, 
 
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 RETOLT OF THE BEES 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 littp://www.arcliive.org/details/revoltofbeeOOmorg 
 
THE 
 
 REVOLT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE BEES. 
 
 " On observing that the instinct of those little animals had surpassed 
 the intelligence of man, I said within myself; * Happy were it for the 
 societies of the human race, did they possess the wisdom of those of 
 bees ! ' and I began to form wishes in behalf of my country." 
 
 St. Pierre. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PBINTED FOR 
 
 LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN, 
 PATERNOSTKR-BOW, 
 
 1826. 
 
It is related in Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, 
 that the bees in their excursions, " furnish themselves with three 
 different materials, the nectar of flowers from which they ela- 
 borate honey and wax ; the pollen or fertilizing dust of the an- 
 thers, of which they make what is called bee-bread, serving as 
 food both to old and young, &c." — Vol. ii. p. 176, 
 
 " The Society of a hive of bees, besides the young brood, 
 consists of one female or queen ; several hundreds of males or 
 drones; and many thousand workers." — Vol. ii. p. 125. 
 
 PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR, 
 SHOE-LANE, LONDON. 
 
K3 
 
 o 4 . 
 
 THE 
 
 REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ■ As bees 
 
 In the spring time, when the sun witli Taurus rides, 
 Pour forth their populous youth about the hive 
 In ckisters ; they among fresh dews and flowers 
 Fly to and fro, or on the smoothed plank, 
 The suburb of their straw-built citadel, 
 New rubb'd with balm, expatiate and confer 
 Their state affairs." — Milton. 
 
 At the distance of five miles to the south-west 
 of Edinburgh rise the Pentland Hills : they are in 
 height about two thousand feet, and form two ridges 
 running parallel with each other, divided by a beau- 
 tiful ravine, with a burn coursing its way through the 
 centre. In this sequestered retreat Allan Ramsay 
 laid the scene of the Gentle Shepherd. In a part of 
 the valley where there is a bend and the space be- 
 tween the hills widens, a monument has been erected 
 
2 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 to his memor)% consecrating the lovely spot to the 
 author of the most finished pastoral of Scotland. 
 Not far distant stands Habies How, which has been 
 described by the poet in the following lines : 
 
 " farer up the burn is Habies How, 
 
 Where a' that's sweet in spring and summer grow : 
 Between twa birks out o'er a little lin 
 The water fa's, and makes a singand din : 
 A pool breast deep, beneath as clear as glass, 
 Kisses with easy whirls the bordering grass." 
 
 Gentle Shepherd. 
 
 Higher up the valley and near the foot of one of the 
 hills is Logan House, supposed to have been the an- 
 cient residence of Sir WilliamWorthy, but which now 
 is in the occupation of a shepherd. This is the only 
 habitation within many miles, and in the severest 
 months of the winter the inmates are prevented by 
 the drifted snow from leaving the valley. Besides 
 tending his flocks, the shepherd receives during 
 July and August the bee-hives of the neighbouring 
 inhabitants beyond the mountains, for the purpose of 
 enabling the bees to gather honey from the hether 
 which at that period of the year blooms in great 
 luxuriance on the Pentland Hills : he has generally 
 more than a hundred hives. 
 
 It happened some thirty years since, when revo- 
 lutionary principles were so much in vogue, that a 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 3 
 
 few of the bees in one of the larger hives manifested 
 a desire to change the pohcy they had hitherto pur- 
 sued. Secret meetings were held by the revolu- 
 tionists, who dispatched emissaries to the neighbour- 
 ing hives in order to establish a correspondence with 
 others equally discontented. Their designs suc- 
 ceeded ; and disaffection spreading from hive to 
 hive, a general revolt took place, and deputies from 
 each were summoned to meet upon the highest 
 eminence. 
 
 About a hundred bees from each hive beins as- 
 sembled, some difficulty arose in the election of a 
 president ; as it was alleged that if a queen bee were 
 appointed, she would be liable to a bias in favour of 
 the existing policy. This objection was at length 
 overruled by the nomination of the queen bee Elia, 
 who was distinguished for the strictest impartiality 
 in the administration of justice. Silence having been 
 proclaimed, the queen president rising, addressed 
 the assembly as follows : 
 
 " It would ill become me, O industrious bees, to 
 offer any opinion upon the important object of our 
 meeting. I will endeavour to enforce the rules of 
 order in your discussion ; and for my own part, I shall 
 submit to whatever may be resolved on for the ge- 
 neral good. After having swayed the sceptre of the 
 li 2 
 
4 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 hive with maternal sohcitude, should it be decreed 
 that the queens must abdicate the royal cells, I shall 
 depart from mine, not without a sigh, but with the 
 grateful feelings arising from a conscientious dis- 
 charge of my regal duties. I call upon Orpheus, as 
 the most zealous advocate for a change, to state his 
 grievances and produce his plans of reformation." 
 
 "I am aware," said Orpheus, "that I have un- 
 dertaken an invidious task ; since in proposing any 
 alteration in the oeconomy of the hive, many will 
 erroneously apprehend that, because their particular 
 interests are for the present disturbed, their happi- 
 ness will be impaired. But a sense of public duty 
 alone impells me to declare, that it appears to me 
 unjust that those bees who are more active workers 
 than others should not have a larger share of honey ; 
 that the weak and the impotent should derive an 
 equal portion of the produce with those who range 
 the fields ; and that even among those who toil the 
 whole day, no distinction is made between the suc- 
 cessful wanderer and him who brings in but small 
 supplies. To remedy these evils, I propose, 
 
 1st, " That each bee shall reserve for his own 
 use and disposal all the honey that he col- 
 lects. 
 " 2dly, That the Pentland Hills be divided into 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 5 
 
 different districts, and that each hive have 
 its particular allotment. 
 
 " 3dly, That each allotment be subdivided, and a 
 subdivision appropriated to each bee." 
 
 " I cannot but with reluctance," said Emilius, " of- 
 fer an opinion at variance with the sentiments of my 
 friend Orpheus ; for often have we winged our way 
 together along the flowery mead, and sought with 
 mutual aid the sweetest petals. But since the history 
 of past ages records no instance of a constitution of 
 apiarian society different from the present, and as we 
 experience no evils which do not admit of a remedy, 
 we should deliberate long, before we abandon those 
 laws which have prevailed in the hive from time im- 
 memorial. If some are more weak and feeble than 
 others, it is the dispensation of Nature ; and how can 
 the superior efforts of the active and more strong be 
 better directed, upon principles of equity and bene- 
 volence, than in supplying the deficiencies of those 
 whose necessities are occasioned by unavoidable 
 causes '. 
 
 The just reasoning of this appeal was borne down 
 by clamour, and by several violent harangues from 
 the reformists, who were so prepossessed in favour of 
 their new project, and had made so many proselytes, 
 that the Resolutions were carried by a large majority. 
 
6 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 The meeting broke up ; the deputies flew away to 
 their respective hives, and no time was lost in carry- 
 ing the scheme into effect. — We must now detail 
 some of the consequences of the revolution. 
 
 Scarcely had a week elapsed, before a few of the 
 more powerful or fraudulent bees had accumulated 
 to themselves a much larger portion of honey than 
 Ihey could consume ; they had already become sur- 
 feited, indolent and unhealthy, by the quantity they 
 had devoured : and although they perceived that the 
 w'eak were almost famished from being unable to 
 collect sufficient for their subsistence, they would 
 not part with their superfluity but upon certain hard 
 conditions*. They required in the first place, that 
 the destitute bees should surrender to them all right 
 
 "" " If you should see a flock of pigeons in a field of corn ; 
 and if (instead of each picking where and what it hked, taking 
 just as much as it wanted, and no more) you should see ninety- 
 nine of them gathering all they got into a heap, reserving no- 
 thing for themselves but the chaff" and the refuse ; keeping this 
 heap for one, and that the weakest, perhaps the worst pigeon 
 of the flock ; sitting round, and looking on all the winter, whilst 
 this one was devouring, throwing about, and wasting it ; and if 
 a pigeon more hardy or himgry than the rest, touched a grain 
 of the hoard, all the others instantly flying upon it, and tearing 
 it to pieces: — if you should see this, you would see nothing more 
 than what is every day practised and established among men. 
 
 " There must be some very important advantages to account 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 7 
 
 to their individual portions of the Pentland Hills, 
 and in future gather honey solely for the affluent ; 
 receiving as a reward for their excessive toil just so 
 much honey as the saturated should agree among 
 themselves to dispense. 
 
 Under this arrangement, the aggregate quantity 
 of honey continued to increase far beyond the con- 
 sumption, imtil the wealthy bees had no inducement 
 to augment their stores. But how were the destitute 
 to obtain a portion of those stores, since the satu- 
 rated would not part with any unless in exchange for 
 the produce of their labour, and of which produce 
 they had now too great an abundance ? It so hap- 
 
 for an institution, which in the view of it above given is so pa- 
 radoxical and unnatural. 
 
 "The principal of these advantages are the following: 
 
 " 1st, It increases the produce of the earth. 
 
 "2dly, It preserves the produce of the earth to maturity. 
 
 "3dly, It prevents contests. 
 
 " 4thly, It improves the conveniency of living." 
 
 Palej/'s Moral Fhilosophy, book iii, 
 A discovery has now been made in social science, which se- 
 cures to mankind in a much higher degree the advantages enu- 
 merated above as derived from the right of private property su- 
 perseding the gregarious state. A discovery, which not only 
 improves those advantages in an extraordinary degree, but pro- 
 cures many others, and is destined to banish for ever the evils 
 so well illustrated by Archdeacon Paley's analogy of the pigeons. 
 
8 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 pened, that with the distempered state of body arising 
 from repletion and indolence, new and fanciful de- 
 sires were engendered, and of which the destitute 
 were called upon to furnish the means of gratification. 
 Not content with the clothing Nature had provided 
 them, the affluent desired pecuhar garments and or- 
 naments, for which it became necessary to explore 
 the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms^. 
 
 The destitute bees, seeing no prospect of obtain- 
 ing support but by their exertions to satisfy the fac- 
 titious desires of the wealthy, and having parted with 
 the right to their portions of the Hills, set out in pur- 
 suit of the various articles in request. Some were 
 compelled in distant climes to descend into mines, to 
 the irreparable injury of their health : or if the bees 
 in foreigVi countries were disposed to procure the mi- 
 nerals, they demanded honey in exchange. This gave 
 rise to exportation, and increased the toil of the desti- 
 
 * " If it can be imagined that there ever was a time when the 
 inhabitants of any country were in a state of eqiiahty, without 
 distinction of rank or pecuharity of possessions, it is reasonable 
 to beUeve that every man was then loved in proportion as he 
 could contribute by his strength or his skill to the supply of 
 natural wants : there was then little room for peevish dislike, 
 or capricious favour; the affection admitted into the heart was 
 rather esteem tlian tenderness ; and kindness was only pur- 
 chased by benefits. But when by force or policy, by wisdom or 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 9 
 
 tute at home ; while others contracted diseases and 
 lost their lives in the fabrication of whimsical and 
 useless articles. 
 
 The unequal division of the honey did not long- 
 continue without exciting discontent, and leading to 
 a complicated state of things, widely differing from 
 the harmony and orderly movements in the hives 
 under Nature's system. Many disputes arose for 
 the possession of the honey : those whose stores 
 were abundant, were in continual alarm from the 
 fear of plunder. Hence it became necessary to 
 set apart a certain number, whose sole business it 
 was to adjust differences, and to award punish- 
 ment to delinquents : these were called judicatores, 
 and were distinguished by large bushy caps placed 
 upon their heads, and depending over the shoulders 
 and the breasts ; the caps were covered with a 
 profusion of the fertilizing dust. Their appearance 
 was somewhat grotesque ; and certain bees, who had 
 
 by fortune, property and superiority were introduced and esta- 
 blished, so that many were condemned to labour for the sup- 
 port of a few ; then they whose possessions swelled above their 
 wants, naturally laid out their superfluities upon pleasure; and 
 those who could not gain friendship by necessary offices, endea- 
 voured to promote their interest by luxurious gratifications, and 
 to create needs which they might be courted to supply." — Dr. 
 Johnson, Rambler, No. 104. 
 
10 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 travelled through the air upon a voyage of discovery 
 from the South Sea Islands, are said to have mistaken 
 them for insects of a different species *. 
 
 But there was one of the judicatores who pos- 
 sessed more power than the others, and to whom it 
 belonged to decide upon cases of extraordinaiy diffi- 
 culty and doubt : he resided at the extremity of a 
 cell of remarkable depth, the windings and turnings 
 of which were so intricate, that those who entered 
 and penetrated far, found it extremely difficult to get 
 out. There were a number of sharp-sighted bees who 
 also dwelt in this cell, and were continually glancing 
 with an envious eye at the seat occupied by the 
 chief, hoping one day to possess ' it : but at the 
 period to which we are referring, the grand judica- 
 tor had outlived the baffled expectations of thou- 
 sands, to the great joy of the bees in general ; who, 
 notwithstanding many mal-practices in his capacious 
 cell, and which they attributed to the subordinates, 
 entertained a high opinion of his personal qualities 
 
 * " Sometimes a bee is so discoloured with this powder as to 
 look like a different insect, becoming white, yellow, or orange, 
 according to the flowers in which it has been busy. Reaumur 
 was urged to visit the hives of a gentleman who on this account 
 thought his bees were different from the common kind." — Kirhy 
 and Spence, vol i. p. 181. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 1 1 
 
 and the rectitude of his motives. They remarked, 
 that after-ages would venerate his decisions, which 
 would become precedents for their future guidance. 
 And such might have been the result, if the progress 
 of knowledge had not within a short period of his 
 resignation closed for ever the cell of perplexity and 
 
 despair *. 
 
 When two bees entered this cell with a vessel of 
 
 honey in order that it should be awarded to one or 
 
 to the other, they found themselves involved in a 
 
 labyrinth long before they could reach the grand 
 
 judicator; but at every turning there was stationed 
 
 one of the sharp-sighted bees, who very courteously 
 
 conducted them round the corner, at the same time 
 
 taking some of the honey out of the vessel as a 
 
 ^ " He that buys and sells a house, must have a house full 
 of writings ; there be so many circumstances, so many words, 
 such tautological repetitions of all particulars (to avoid cavilla- 
 tion they say); but we find by our woful experience, that to sub- 
 tle wits it is a cause of much more contention and variance : and 
 scarce any conveyance so accurately penned of one, which an- 
 other will not find a crack in, or cavil at, if any word be mis- 
 placed, any little error, all is disannulled. That which is Law 
 today, is none tomorrow; that which is sound in one man's opi- 
 nion, is most faulty to another; that in conclusion, here is no- 
 thing amongst us but contention and confusion, we bandy one 
 against another."— Bm?-^o«'.'; Anatomy of Melancholy. 
 
12 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 recompence for his kind assistance ; and even the 
 grand judicator, after his doubts were resolved, did 
 not scruple to refresh himself with a portion of the 
 honey, — so that by the time the vessel was adjudged 
 to one of the contending parties, he beheld with 
 dismay that it was nearly empty ; and too late they 
 discovered that if they had divided the honey with- 
 out entering the cell of contention, each would have 
 had a larger share than the successful suitor. 
 
 It was not unusual for the wealthy bee to be at- 
 tacked and robbed by one who was destitute, and who 
 stuns: him to death in order to avoid detection : the 
 assailant, however, seldom escaped eventually, and 
 when brought to trial was condemned to die. Thus 
 the community were deprived of the aid of two indi- 
 diduals, who under the ancient policy might have 
 proved friendly and industrious companions. 
 
 The longer the new system continued, the more 
 complicated and confused became the proceedings 
 of the hive, and numberless were the laws that were 
 enacted to correct the growing evils. The necessity 
 for these laws, however, could be traced almost ex- 
 clusively to the unequal division of the honey*. The 
 
 * " On punit a la Chine le Mandarin dans le departement 
 duquel il s'est commis quelqiie grand crime. C'est a sa propre 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 13 
 
 laws were framed by the saturated bees, who, for 
 the purpose of giving a colour of justice to the prin- 
 
 negligence ou sa propre injustice qu'un mauvais gouverne- 
 ment devroit s'en prendre dii grand nombre de malfaiteurs qui 
 se trouvent dans un etat. La nniltiplicite des criminals an- 
 nonce une administration tyrannique et peu soigneuse. La 
 rigueur des impots ; les vexations, les duretes des riches et 
 des grands font puUuler des malheureux que souvent la misere 
 reduit au desespoir, et qui se livrent au crime comme an moyen 
 le plus prompt pour s'en tirer. Si I'opulence est la mere des 
 vices, 1' indigence est la mere des crimes. Lorqu'un etat est mal 
 gouverne, que les richesscs et I'aisance sont trop inegalement re- 
 parties, de maniere que des millions d' hommes manquent du 
 necessaire, tandis qu'un petit nombre de citoyens regorgent de 
 superflu, on y voit communement beaucoup de malfaiteurs, et 
 les chatimens ne diminueront point le nombre des criminels. 
 Si un gouvernement punit les malheureux, il laisse en repos les 
 vices qui conduisent I'etat a sa mine ; il eleve des gibets pour 
 les pauvres, tandis que c'est lui qui, en faisant les miserables, 
 fait des voleurs, des assassins, des malfaiteurs de toute espece : 
 il punit le crime, tandis qu'il invite sans cesse a commettre le 
 crime." — Systane Social, vol. iii. p. 47. 
 
 " He could discern cities, like so many hives of bees, wherein 
 every bee had a sting, and they did nought else but sting one 
 another, some domineering like hornets, bigger than the rest, 
 some like filching wasps, others as drones. Over their heads 
 were hovering a confused company of perturbations, hope, fear, 
 anger, avarice, ignorance, &c., and a multitude of diseases 
 hanging, which they still pulled on their pates. Their towns 
 and provinces meer factions, rich against poor, poor against 
 rich, nobles against artificers, they against nobles, and so the 
 rest." — Burton's Anatomy. 
 
14 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 ciple upon which legislation was regulated, per- 
 mitted the impoverished to nominate those among 
 the wealthy whom they preferred as lawgivers : 
 nevertheless their choice was greatly influenced by 
 the affluent, who gave to them small portions of the 
 honey to vote in obedience to their wishes. But 
 with the destitute, so strong was the temptation to 
 satisfy the calls of hunger by any means within 
 their reach, that other restraints were deemed ne- 
 cessary besides these legal enactments. 
 
 Tradition had handed down a volume which it 
 was said had been written by divine inspiration ; and 
 truly such were the beauty and sublimity of the 
 composition, that it bore the impress of its sacred 
 origin. But it was remarkable that this book con- 
 tained precepts totally at variance with those feel- 
 ings which the new order, — or rather disorder, — of 
 society engendered ; for it recommended content- 
 ment, mercy, benevolence ; and denounced ambition, 
 resentment, and covetousness. The expounders of 
 this volume were called ecclesiastes, and were ap- 
 pointed to their office by the powerful bees. Their 
 education taught them to inculcate the doctrine of 
 passive obedience as an imperative duty, they even 
 inferred that the existing order of apiarian society 
 was ordained by Providence, and therefore im- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 15 
 
 mutable^. The evils then prevalent in the hive they 
 attributed to the conformation of the bee ;— the 
 qualities were inherent in his nature ; he was origi- 
 nally bad. They had forgotten that under the pri- 
 mitive system, when each had his due proportion of 
 the honey, there was no repletion, no destitution, 
 and consequently neither theft nor assassination; 
 that there was no lust of power, no contention, and 
 very few disorders. In short, it was extremely diffi- 
 
 ^ This " right divine " is certainly not destitute of ancient 
 precedent. "When the territory of a tribe or nation ceased to 
 be its property, and individuals acquired particular spots or 
 estates, which they cultivated for their use and transmitted to 
 their posterity, it was a consequence of the old manners, that 
 these improvements were regarded as the usurpation of the pow- 
 erful on the weak : and historians assure us, that it happened 
 both in Greece and Italy, that the land-marks which had been fix- 
 ed to distinguish the boundaries of property, were frequently re- 
 moved or destroyed. It seemed an encroachment on the rights 
 of the people, that lands, which of old pastured indifferently the 
 cattle of successive occupiers, should be allotted to the use and 
 convenience only of private men. It was accordingly, not merely 
 necessary to make laws to prevent the violation of private rights; 
 but what is curious in an uncommon degree, even the termini 
 or land-marks, that they might remain unremoved for the pre- 
 servation and the separation of property, were exalted mto divi- 
 nities. Thus, religion as well as policy held out its terrors to 
 force mankind to learn the art of appropriation, and to accept 
 of power and riches."— S^war^s View oj Society, p. 143. 
 
16 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 cult to reconcile their opinions with the character of 
 the sacred volume, which in spirit was congenial 
 with the peace, harmony and contentment that pre- 
 vailed under tlie natural arrangements of the hive ; 
 and which distinctly declared, that when the bees 
 should be properly trained, they would persevere in 
 an undeviating course, and finally arrive at a land 
 flowing with milk and honey. 
 
 So numerous were the diseases peculiar to the af- 
 fluent from indolence and repletion, and to the indi- 
 gent from excessive toil and noxious employment *, 
 as also from accidents arising from want of order 
 in their proceedings, that it became necessary for 
 another class to be devoted to the cure of diseases, 
 the repair of broken mandibles, anthers, and wings. 
 Some cells were set apart by the wealthy for those 
 of the impoverished who were afflicted with ill- 
 ness or injured by accidents ; and it appeared that the 
 new institutions, although calculated to produce the 
 most complicated misery and the most injurious pro- 
 pensities, were still unable to eradicate that sympa- 
 thy which the bees in common with all other ani- 
 mated beings manifest towards others of the same 
 
 * See Rainazini's work " De Morbis Artificum," in which are 
 enumerated no less than seventy diseases incidental to artificet-s. 
 
THE REVOLT OE THE BEES. 17 
 
 species. For the miseries occasioned by the selfish- 
 ness, folly or ambition, to which the new system 
 gave birth, excited the commiseration of some of 
 the more reflecting bees, and from time to time 
 there would arise individuals who devoted them- 
 selves voluntarily to the relief of the distressed. — 
 One of the punishments inflicted upon those who 
 committed depredations and other offences, was im- 
 prisonment ; and in each hive there were several 
 large ceHs constructed for immolating delinquents : 
 the keepers of these cells would sometimes exercise 
 a severity beyond the duty of their office, or relax in 
 their attention to the sustenance of their prisoners. 
 Struck with the appalling misery in one of these 
 cells, a bee resolved to examine all the prison cells in 
 the principal hives; and accordingly set out on his 
 travels, and effected great improvements in those he 
 visited. 
 
 It so happened, that an ingenious bee invented a 
 machine by which he could elaborate honey and 
 wax in large quantities with the aid of a few workers 
 only. This scheme was imitated by others to 
 such an extent that the poor working bees began 
 to think they should have but little employment ; 
 and occasionally, when there was a great accumu- 
 lation of honey and wax, they were discharged in 
 
 c 
 
18 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 large numbers, while the few who were retained got 
 very little honey for their hard exertions. Whenever 
 this took place, thefts and other crimes, — the too fre- 
 quent attendants of poverty and want of occupation, — 
 increased, to the great discomfiture of those who had 
 built all their hopes of moral reformation solely upon 
 the inculcation of precepts*; for circumstances, 
 overv/helming circumstances, triumphed over the 
 ill-fated, impoverished, and partially enlightened 
 workers ; — and how should it be otherwise ? when 
 the wisest of their philosophers, the most strenuous 
 advocates for morality, were sometimes seen to fall 
 before the influence of untoward events ! By de- 
 grees these machines were so much impi'oved that 
 they produced immense quantities of honey and wax. 
 
 * " Tell him to be virtuous, to be beneficent, to promote the 
 happiness of his fellow creatures; you must show him it is his 
 interest to be so. Tell him to be virtuous, and surround him 
 with such circumstances as make the virtues you recommend 
 contrary to his apparent interest : his conduct will unhesitatingly 
 follow in the line of what seems to him his interest, and all ex- 
 hortations in opposition thereto will be imheeded and inopera- 
 tive. Improve his powers of comparing and judging, teach him 
 to observe the consequences of his own actions as well as those 
 of others, as well as their immediate effects ; teach him fore- 
 sight, — and then, surrounded by favourable external circum- 
 stances, all the virtues will necessarily spring up." — Thompson. 
 Distribution of Wealth, p. 49. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 19 
 
 so that very large supplies were sent to distant hives 
 where machines were not in use. These exportations 
 were considered by the legislatores as undoubted 
 proofs of prosperity : and when it was urged upon 
 them that the workers, the great majority of the 
 bees, could not be benefited by exportation, they 
 turned a deaf ear to the complaint, and still exult- 
 ingly pointed to the streain of honey issuing rapidly 
 from the hive''. 
 
 But there were periods when honey and wax would 
 become scarce in consequence of foreign orders, and 
 labour would then be in demand ; so that the workers 
 perceived they were treated like inanimate beings, 
 to be used or laid aside according to the exigencies 
 of the times. As in seasons of abundance they were 
 
 '' " One great and common error, amidst a multitude of other 
 errors, is the confounding tlie people with the government. 
 The people are supposed to be happy whensoever the govern- 
 ment prospers. Instead of keeping in view the good of indi- 
 viduals, nothing is considered but the growth and duration of 
 empires, — as if the public prosperity and the general felicity were 
 two inseparable matters." — Chatelur on Public Happiness, vol. i. 
 p. 41. 
 
 " Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen who survey 
 The rich man's joys increase, the poor's decay, 
 'Tis yours to judge how wide the limits stand 
 Between a splendid and a happy land." 
 
 Goldsmith's Deserted Village. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 obliged to submit to the terms of their directors, they 
 began to think that when they were most required 
 they were entitled to a larger share of honey, of 
 which they were the only producers. They aban- 
 doned their employments, and assembled tumul- 
 tuously, to enforce more favourable conditions. The 
 directors and the affluent bees alleged, that when the 
 workers were amply compensated for their labour, 
 they would neglect their work and descend into 
 low and quarrelsome cells, and there sip nectarean 
 juices. 
 
 Whatever truth there might be in this argument, 
 it was equally applicable to the possession of any 
 superfluity by every class ; for seldom was it bene- 
 ficially applied, either to themselves or to others. 
 
 But various as were the contentions, disorders and 
 accidents occurring within the hive, they were far 
 exceeded in number and severity by the conflicts 
 that arose on the Pentland Hills between the oc- 
 cupiers of the different hive allotments. The 
 slightest encroachment upon each other's territory 
 by a single bee, would sometimes involve whole 
 communities in a warfare, ending only with the de- 
 struction of several millions. But how such calami- 
 tous consequences should follow from causes so ap- 
 parently trivial, requires explanation. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 21 
 
 The affluent bees, by indulging a propensity to 
 control the conduct of others, had acquired a love 
 of power and dominion which appeared among some 
 of the rulers to be almost insatiable. Not content 
 with the influence they had obtained within the hive, 
 and the allotment connected therewith on the Pent- 
 land Hills, they desired to increase their territories 
 and the number of their dependents. Thus it was 
 that they availed themselves of the shghtest pretext 
 for directing an attack upon the more peaceable bees 
 of another district : and although after many days 
 fighting and the sacrifice of many millions, each 
 party retained their former possessions, yet the 
 wars were frequently renewed : but if perchance any 
 little advantage was obtained by either party, no be- 
 nefit whatever accrued to the indigent bees in be- 
 coming subject to another ruler *^. 
 
 *= " It is to be feared that these wars, of which the poor bear 
 the burden, and in which milUons of them lose their limbs, 
 their health, and their lives, are often entered into for the ex- 
 press purpose of increasing their subjection and oppression, and 
 making them the instruments of it. 
 
 " If these conjectures are true, how are the poor to be pitied ! 
 The reflection that all the calamities of the poor originated from, 
 and were really the works of, mens hands ; that fresh calamities 
 have been purposely brought on them, and that they themselves 
 have been made use of as instruments to confirm their old 
 grievances, add to, and perpetuate them, is too sad for a human 
 heart to dwell on." — Dr. Hall's Effects of Civilization, p. 168. 
 
22 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 When the wars first commenced upon the Hills, 
 the leaders found it convenient to bestow upon the 
 most rahant larger vessels of honey and additional 
 portions of the Hills ; they also dignified them with 
 titles, and placed glittering stars upon their breasts'*. 
 Thus far the distinctions, under the existing policy, 
 were attended \\ ith some general benefit. But it too 
 frequently happened that the gifts of the large ves- 
 sels of honey, the allotments on the Hills, and the 
 titles and the stars, were transmitted upon the death 
 of the meritorious bees to others, who turned out to 
 be mere drones*, and who considered themselves. 
 
 "* " There is a district in America, where when an Indian has 
 gained a victory, or managed a negociation with dexterity, they 
 say to him in an assembly of the nation, ' Thou art a man.' 
 This eulogium is a more powerful incentive to great actions, 
 than all the dignities proposed by civilized states to those who 
 render themselves illustrious by their talents." And we may 
 add, that if men are to be praised for their actions, this is a more 
 rational conmiendation. When Epimenides departed from 
 Athens after improving the laws, he refused considerable pre- 
 sents, and only demanded for himself a branch of the olive 
 consecrated to Minerva, and the friendship of the Athenians 
 for Cnossus his country. 
 
 * Ovid, in his relation of the contest for the armour of Achilles, 
 describes Ulysses as charging Ajax with his ignorance of the 
 devices on the shield, " Postulat ut capiat, qua nun intelUget, 
 arma." But he could not represent him as deficient in bravery, 
 the quality through which the deceased hero had been re- 
 warded with his impenetrable armour. 
 
THE llEVOLT OF THE BEES. 23 
 
 as in truth they were, an order of beings altogether 
 distinct from the workers^. 
 
 A certain number of the bees were employed 
 during the night imprinting upon the leaves of a 
 plant called the papyrus, the occurrences of the 
 preceding day ; such as the accidents and contests 
 arising from competition. It will scarcely be be- 
 lieved with what eagerness the little creatures sought 
 for these leaves, and that they could read without 
 emotion of the calamities, follies, and penury of their 
 fellow citizens. But when the wars were raging 
 upon the Pentland Hills, and the various successes 
 and reverses were minutely described, the papyrus 
 was inquired for with increased avidity; the vic- 
 tories achieved were emblazoned upon the leaves 
 very conspicuously ; but the wounds that were in- 
 flicted, and the privations and sufferings that were 
 endured, were either not imprinted at all, or so glossed 
 over as to be scarcely legible s. 
 
 f " II se regardoit comme etant d'une autre nature que le 
 reste des hommes ; les autres ne lui sembloient mis sur la terre 
 par les Dieux que pour lui plaire, pour le servir, pour prevenir 
 tous ses desirs, et pour rapporter tout a lui comme a une Divi- 
 nite. Le bonheur de le servir etoit, selon lui, une assez haute 
 recompense pour ceux qui le sevvo\ent:'—Tele77iaque, xvi. 
 
 s " By means of which it comes to pass that daily so many 
 voluntaries offer themselves, leaving their sweet wives, chil- 
 
24 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 An extraordinary interest was excited by whatever 
 happened to an affluent bee, particularly one distin- 
 guished by a star. If he passed only from one cell 
 to another, the movement was publicly arnouneed ; 
 but when he was indisposed, the whole hive were 
 inquiring if the fever was abated. However laudable 
 such benevolence, it should not have been con- 
 fined to those who when indisposed were surrounded 
 by every alleviation, and received the most assiduous 
 attention. The indigent invalid was entitled to the 
 warmest and most general sympathy : for not only 
 might he be destitute of medicinal aid, but his dis- 
 charge from employment frequently deprived him of 
 the common necessaries cf life. But justice no 
 
 dren, friends, for six pence (if they can get it) a day, prostitute 
 their Uves and limbs, desire to enter upon breaches, lie sentinel, 
 perdue, give the first onset, stand in the fore-front of the battle, 
 marching bravely on, with a cheerful noise of drums and 
 trumpets, such vigour and alacrity, so many banners streaming 
 in the air, glittering armours, motions of plumes, woods of pikes 
 and swords, variety of colours, cost and magnificence, as if they 
 went in triumph, now victors to the Capitol, and.with such pomp, 
 as when the army of Darius marched to meet Alexander at 
 Issus. Void of all fear, they run into eminent dangers, cannons 
 mouth, &c., to get a name of valour, honour and applause, 
 which lasts not; for it is but a mere Hash this fame, and like a 
 rose, Ultra diem umtin cxtinguitur, 'tis gone in an instant."- — 
 Burton's Anutomy. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 25 
 
 longer presided in the hive ; and the poor working- 
 bee would lanouish in an obscure and miserable cell, 
 and die unpitied and unknown '', while the bee who 
 enjoyed every comfort and luxury was the object 
 of general solicitude to the latest period of his ex- 
 istence. 
 
 The accumulated evils at last became so great 
 and alarming, that the Legislative Assembly were 
 unwilling any longer to defer the consideration of 
 them, more especially as the workers were sometimes 
 driven to desperation, and even threatened to over- 
 throw the hive. Laws out of number had been 
 enacted for the punishment of criminals and to arrest 
 the progress of pauperism ; but how to prevent the 
 further increase of offenders and paupers was a per- 
 plexing question ', resolved as they were not to per- 
 
 ^ Should the poor man terminate a miserable existence with 
 less obscurity, what is the melancholy alternative? He draws 
 his latest breath in the parish workhouse, " Where all that's 
 wretched paves the way to death !" 
 
 " Here on a matted flock, with dust o'erspread, 
 The drooping wretch reclines his languid head. 
 For him no hand the cordial cup applies, 
 Nor wipes the tear that stagnates in his eyes; 
 No friends with soft discourse his pain beguile. 
 Nor promise hope till sickness wears a smile." 
 
 Crahhe. 
 ' " Such," exclaims Mr. Courtenay in his perplexed and per- 
 
26 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 mit any material changes in the order of society. 
 That poverty, if not the only, was at least one of the 
 primary causes of crime, they could not deny ; but 
 their difficulty was augmented when they observed 
 that poverty became more general in seasons of great 
 superabundance. 
 
 An impartial observer could at once trace the 
 cause to the injustice of their agrarian laws, to the 
 monopoly of the large tracts of the Hills, and of the 
 stores of honey by the few ^ : for it could not be 
 doubted that the workers would be able to provide 
 far more than was sufficient for themselves, if they 
 
 plexing Treatise, "are the opposing difficulties of this extensive 
 subject ! They will dishearten one who has persuaded himself 
 that it is possible or desirable to disentangle our political con- 
 stitution from a system of poor laws." And such will ever re- 
 main the opposing difficulties to those who vainly endeavour to 
 reconcile great inequality in the distribution of the products of 
 labour with truth aad justice, and more especially when the 
 political order of society assigns to the idle the superfluity, and 
 to the producers a bare sufficiency. 
 
 ^ " Necessity, in vulgar life, is known to be one of the chief 
 incitements to vice and depravity. From a state of indigence, 
 wretchedness and despair, the transition is easy to criminal ol- 
 fences. 
 
 "From the degrading, the injurious influence of a state of de- 
 basement, generating a corruption of morals, spreading in every 
 direction, how can it be expected that the inferior ranks in so- 
 cietj' can be regular, sober, frugal, or industrious?" — Colquhoun 
 on Indigence. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 27 
 
 could have found any portion of the Hills unoccupied, 
 when employment was not to be obtained from the 
 affluent. 
 
 Season after season the assembly sat in close 
 deliberation, examined numerous witnesses, and 
 published voluminous reports : but notwithstanding 
 all their labours, the last list of delinquents con- 
 tained a greater number than any preceding one'. 
 Treatises were written on the subject, involving it in 
 still greater difficulty; and one theorist had the 
 boldness to question the right of the pauper bees 
 to relief at all ; but their forlorn condition was suffi- 
 cient to excite the sympathy of the most obdurate, 
 and the proposition, from its revolting character, was 
 speedily dismissed. 
 
 ' " I am free to confess that it gives me great concern that 
 the labours of the Grand Jury are likely to be extended to a 
 considerable length of time ; for up to the time the calendar 
 was made up for publication, there were eighty-t^vo prisoners 
 charged with crimes within the City of London, which is at 
 least one-fourth more than I ever remember in the correspond- 
 ing periods during my forty years experience." — Vide Recorders 
 Charge to the Grand Jurv, September 14, 1825. And again, 
 
 " In looking over the calendar, I am sure you will join with 
 me in lamenting, that there are no fewer than seventy-three 
 prisoners for trial on the London side, which is nearly double 
 the number of last Sessions, and by far exceeds any thing within 
 my recollection." — Charge, April 5, 1826. 
 
28 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 At last they resolved upon the expedient of en- 
 lightening the minds of the workers : and accordingly 
 great pains were taken to teach them to read, with 
 the expectation that such pieces only of the papyrus 
 would be perused as the affluent approved. But alas ! 
 when their minds were a little expanded, they began 
 to dive into other matters ; and such as were consi- 
 dered of a dangerous tendency, particularly by those 
 who were dignified with titles; for they apprehended, 
 and their fears were too well grounded, that by ex- 
 amining the foundations of society the workers would 
 question the equity of exclusive privileges, and be 
 less dazzled by the splendour of their stars ™. 
 
 Another class of writers now came forward, termed 
 the Apiarian (Economists. Their professed object 
 w^as to promote the prosperity of all the inhabitants 
 of the hive. But upon investigating their theories, 
 they were found, like much of their reasoning, to be 
 directed almest exclusively to the most effectual 
 
 " " Stars, garters, ribbons, all are glittering toys, 
 And long-drawn titles make a wond'rous noise! 
 Titles, to grov'ling minds distinctions rare, 
 May make the flatt'rer cringe, the vulgar stare ; 
 But to the man who values honest fame, 
 They brand with new disgrace a worthless name." 
 
 See a Poem called " The Times, or the Prophecy.'" 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 29 
 
 means of accumulating the largest quantity of honey ". 
 Whether those means were beneficial or detrimental 
 to the working- bees, or in what manner the honey 
 was distributed, appears to have been altogether a 
 secondary consideration. Their theories were very 
 unintelligible to the bees in general : nor is this to 
 be wondered at, when it was found that they could 
 not even agree among themselves upon any con- 
 sistent plan, but were continually disputing one with 
 another upon the working of a favourite system ; and 
 indeed not one was found practicable : yet there was 
 
 " And yet one of the latest writers considers that the field of 
 inquiry has not been sufficiently contracted, " It is not pre- 
 tended," says Mr. Mill, " that writers on Political Economy 
 have always limited their inquiries to this class of objects. It 
 seems, however, important to detach the science from all con- 
 siderations not essential to it. I therefore premise, that in the 
 following pages I have this alone in view; namely, to ascertain 
 the laws according to which the production and consumption 
 are regulated of those commodities which the intervention of 
 human labour is necessary to procure." — Introduction to Ele- 
 ments of Political Economi/, by James Mill, Esq. 
 
 It would be of no moment within what limits political ceco- 
 nomists circumscribed the science, if their opinions were not 
 permitted to have a preponderating influence in the enactment 
 of laws. The above definition of the objects of political oeco- 
 nomy may be correct, but it is the province of the enlightened 
 statesman " to ascertain the laws according to which the pro- 
 duction and consumption ought to he regulated." 
 
30 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 a solitary but fatally important proposition upon 
 which they were unanimous ; namely, that the 
 number of the bees had a tendency to increase in 
 greater proportion than the quantity of honey, and 
 consequently that the destruction occasioned by in- 
 temperance, disease, and by the wars on the Pent- 
 land Hills, kept their numbers within those bounds 
 which the supply of honey prescribed. 
 
 Unfortunately for the poor destitute bees, this 
 opinion became too prevalent : the affluent repeated 
 it as a sanction to their overgrown stores ; and even 
 the benevolent, assenting to the supposed truth of 
 the proposition, resigned all hope of any extensive 
 amelioration in the condition of the bees., and thence- 
 forward limited their efforts to the correction of some 
 few of the disorders of the hive. The legislatores 
 also concurred in the general opinion, and hastily 
 broke up their meetings ; their huge reports and la- 
 boured treatises were deposited high upon the shelves, 
 and in their own peculiar phraseology they declared 
 that " the evil would cure itself"." 
 
 " The meaning of this phrase appears to he, that when the 
 country is afflicted with scarcity and high prices, there will be 
 more produced, until the country is afflicted with superabun- 
 dance and low prices. What physical and moral consequences 
 attend this oscillation among the producers, are seldom 
 thousfhl of. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 31 
 
 So many difficulties had the influential bees ex- 
 perienced in attempting to reform the abuses of the 
 hive and to reheve the indigent, that tliey were dis- 
 posed, previous to the pubhcation of this dogma, to 
 resign the cause in despair, if they could have re- 
 conciled it to themselves to pass by with indifference 
 so much accumulated and increasing misery. But 
 now they were overjoyed to find that they were 
 sanctioned by the inexorable laws of Nature in aban- 
 doning the impoverished to their fate, and that they 
 could resume without remorse their jollity and feast- 
 ing. The drone who had made the grand discovery 
 did not go unrewarded, for he was lodged in one of 
 the choicest cells and fed with the royal jelly P. 
 
 After the failure of the various theorists, an ex- 
 perimentalist arrived and announced his discovery of 
 
 P There appears to be some error in this part of the narrative, 
 as the royal jelly was given to the young workers intended for 
 future queens, who were destined to augment the population of 
 the hive. But as the drone who proclaimed the dogma was pe- 
 culiarly adverse to that measure, he is the last who would have 
 been selected for such an important office. " If the bees are 
 deprived of their queen, and are supplied with comb containing 
 young worker brood only, they will select one or more to be 
 educated as queens ; which, by having a royal cell erected for 
 their habitation, and being fed with royal jelly for not more 
 than two days, wlien they emerge from the pupa state (though. 
 
a 
 
 32 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the source of all their moral evils. He came to pro- 
 mulgate a code of regulations in which no principles 
 that had not stood the test of experiment were ad- 
 mitted, and which therefore could not fail to be as 
 true and correct in practice as all theories formed 
 upon a rigid adherence to inductive philosophy •!. 
 " I have had," said he, " under my direction 
 swarm of bees settled on the banks of the Clyde ; 
 
 if they had remained in the cells which they originally in- 
 habited, they would have turned out workers) will come forth 
 complete queens, with their form, instincts, and powers of ge- 
 neration entirely different." — Kirby and Spence, vol. ii. p. 129. 
 It thus appears that the characters of bees, as well as those of 
 men are altered by a change of situation, and that both experience 
 a remarkable transition when they taste the flavour of the royal 
 
 jelly. 
 
 4 " Of the progress which may yet be made in the different 
 branches of moral and political philosophy, we may form some 
 idea from what has already happened in physics, since the time 
 that Lord Bacon first united in one useful direction the labours 
 of those who cultivate that science. At the period when he 
 wTOte, physics was certainly in a more hopeless state than that 
 of moral and political philosophy in the present age. A per- 
 petual succession of chimerical theories had till then amused 
 the world ; and the prevailing opinion was, that the case would 
 continue to be the same for ever. Why then should we despair 
 of the competency of the human faculties to establish solid and 
 permanent systems'upon other subjects which are of still more 
 serious importance." — Stezcurt^s Elements of the Philosophi/ of the 
 Mind, vol. i. p. 296. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 33 
 
 they came from the Pentland Hills after the revo- 
 lution, and had contracted the habits and peculiari- 
 ties of your present policy. Having ascertained that 
 the real causes of intemperance, vice and misery, 
 were to be found in the altered circumstances under 
 which they were placed, I removed many of the un- 
 favourable circumstances, and replaced them with 
 such as were productive of health and contentment. 
 The hours of employment with the working bees 
 were limited, their cells improved, and temptations 
 withdrawn. The happiest results followed, and I 
 had scarcely any occasion for the Judicatores. Thus 
 far, however, nothing more has been effected than 
 some improvement of your present system : but the 
 plans which I now recommend, require an equal par- 
 ticipation in the division of the honey, equal em- 
 ployment in proportion to bodily strength ; — in short, 
 they form in all respects a system of mutual as- 
 sistance." 
 
 Now although it was evident that this was the 
 identical constitution of apiarian society from which 
 they had departed, the principles of which were so 
 obvious and simple, a singular phaenomenon occurred. 
 The bees of all classes, — Judicatores, Ecclesiastes, and 
 Legislatores, were unable to comprehend it, — not even 
 the working bees, who would have been most be- 
 
 D 
 
34 THE REVt)LT OF THE BEES. 
 
 nefited by the change. The Jndkatores had been so 
 long occupied in the adjustment of individual claims, 
 that they could not understand the identity of par- 
 ticular with general interests. The Ecclesiastes re- 
 jected the scheme, because the necessity of belief in 
 particular doctrines was not enforced. And the api- 
 arian oeconomists repeated their favourite theory of 
 Number versus Honey. 
 
 The experimentalist had the welfare of his species 
 so much at heart, that he was determined to meet 
 the objections of all parties : and accordingly to the 
 working bees he stated, that although they might 
 unite under his arrangements in order to secure a 
 due proportion of honey, yet they could retain their 
 individual cells and their privileges of privacy ; that 
 they could even regale themselves in their own cells, 
 if they objected to feed upon the bee bread in the 
 large cell constructed for those who wished to take 
 their repasts with the community. He earnestly 
 dissuaded them from committing any acts of vio- 
 lence, as being both unjust and calculated to retard 
 his ameliorating measures. He clearly showed that 
 the characters of their directors, even of those the 
 most tyrannical, were not formed bi/ themselves, but 
 for them, partly in the pupa state, but chiefly by the 
 institutions of the hive. Above all, he exhorted 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 35 
 
 them to leave the affluent in the undisturbed pos- 
 session of their ample stores, and to begin under his 
 system to gather honey for themselves. But the 
 workers had contracted habits which rendered them 
 unwilling to submit to a change, the advantages of 
 which they were as yet unable to appretiate. 
 
 Of the Legislatores he demanded how they could 
 reasonably expect order in the hive, while their in- 
 stitutions were the obvious causes of dissatisfaction 
 and turbulence ; of inequality in the distribution of 
 honey, and all the evil consequences resulting there- 
 from, both to the saturated and to the indigent ; 
 presenting to one class an over-excitement, and de- 
 priving the other of the means of temperate gratifi- 
 cation. Then appealing to the Judicatores, he in- 
 quired how they could reconcile it to themselves 
 gravely to sit in judgement upon their fellow-citizens, 
 while they must be conscious that had they pos- 
 sessed the same natural dispositions, and been sub- 
 ject to the influence of the same circumstances, they 
 would have been equally guilty''. In reply to the 
 
 "■ " How much longer shall we continue to allow generation 
 after generation to be taught crime from their infancy, and 
 when so taught, hunt them like beasts of the forest until they 
 are entangled beyond escape in the toils and nets of the law ? 
 When, if the circumstances of those poor unpitied sufferers had 
 D 2 
 
3G THE RE\'OLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 objections of ihe Ecclesiastes he remarked, that no 
 bee had any control over his behef ; he must assent 
 to that opinion only, the truth of which was obvious 
 to his understanding : it was therefore inflicting deep 
 injustice on the community, to reject the proffered 
 assistance of an experienced individual merely be- 
 cause he could not conscientiously subscribe to pe- 
 culiar doctrines ; more especially when, so far from 
 impeding the exercise of any religious ceremony, his 
 scheme offered equal facilities to all sects, and the 
 most perfect freedom of opinion^. Then turning to 
 the apiarian oeconomists, he observed, that their fears 
 of an overgrown hive were groundless ; — could not 
 each bee gather more honey than was sufficient for 
 his own subsistence, since the working bees already 
 not only supported themselves and the rest, but also 
 produced large quantities for exportation : therefore 
 
 been reversed with those who are even surrounded with the 
 pomp and dignity of justice, these latter would have been at 
 the bar of the culprit, and the former would have been in the 
 judgement seat.*' — Owen's Essays 07i the Formation of Character, 
 p. 31. 
 
 ° The opinion of an excellent prelate of the Church of En- 
 gland may be quoted in favour of mutual co-operation. " Bees," 
 says Bishop Home, "never work singly, but always in compa- 
 nies, that they may assist each other. A useful hint to scholars 
 and Christians." — Essays and Thoughts, vol. i. p. 278. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 37 
 
 every increase in their numbers was attended with a 
 larger proportionate increase in the power of collect- 
 ing honey ; and until the heather on the Pentland 
 Hills was completely exhausted of its nectar, and the 
 whole globe had become one entire flower-garden, 
 they might continue to lead forth their swarms with- 
 out any apprehension of a famine. But his argu- 
 ments were fruitless ; for all the powerful bees decla- 
 red the scheme to be visionary ; while they admitted 
 the benevolence and practical experience of the pro- 
 jector. He therefore flew away, and established a co- 
 lony upon his own principles in a distant region. 
 
 The departure of the experimentalist was lament- 
 ed by a few only of the inhabitants, among whom 
 was Emilius. That reflecting bee had never ceased 
 to deplore the sad consequences of the revolution 
 which he had in vain attempted to prevent. Since 
 that eventful period, he had secluded himself in a 
 retired part of the hive, and seldom mixed with the 
 crowd : he felt the necessity in the general struggle 
 of laying up a store for the satisfaction of his own 
 wants ; and as these were few and simple, and he was 
 early on the wing, the task was soon performed . He 
 then devoted the remainder of the day to study. He 
 was not however unmindful of his public duties ; and 
 occasionally- assisted in the senatorial deliberations, 
 when the community reaped the fruits of his re- 
 
38 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 searches. Such was the high estimation in which the 
 character of EmiUus was held, that although he was 
 known to be adverse to their general policy, and op- 
 posed more or less to the several parties, yet his 
 opinions were always listened to with respect. At- 
 tributing the distinctions in the hives to accidental 
 circumstances, he was the universal friend of bees ; 
 and it might be said of him, what the historian has 
 remarked of Atticus, — " Hie autem sic se gerebat, ut 
 communis infimis, par principibus videretur." His 
 love of truth predominated over every other conside- 
 ration ; and regardless of the customs of the hive, his 
 whole conduct was regulated by its dictates. With 
 the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and with leisure 
 and means to prosecute his favourite pursuits, it 
 might have been expected that his happiness was 
 complete ; — and if his gratifications had centred in 
 himself, he would have had nothing further to de- 
 sire. But to witness the manifold disorders of the 
 hive, the miseries arising from want, and the endless 
 individual disputes, the monthly execution of delin- 
 quents, when their crimes were the evident result of 
 defective legislation, gave rise to reflections that em- 
 bittered all his enjoyments ^ 
 
 ' " After his return to France from Prussia, in 1765, Helve- 
 tius retired to his estate at Vore, and lived remote from the noise 
 and bustle of the world. He passed his time in study, in select 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 39 
 
 Early one morning when taking his sohtary flight, 
 he Hghted upon a flower whose broad and ample 
 petals gave promise of an abundant supply of honey 
 without much sacrifice of time. As he descended 
 towards the stamen, he observed a bee going up on 
 the other side so heavily laden with ambrosia that 
 he could scarcely move. Upon advancing a little 
 sideways, who should he recognize but his friend 
 Orpheus. Although Orpheus had been the chief pro- 
 moter of the revolution, he was far from being in- 
 fluenced by any sinister designs; he accumulated 
 wealth because he found it was an important instru- 
 ment in promoting public improvements, and for the 
 purposes of private benevolence. But whether it was 
 that the prevailing system being a child of his own, 
 and he was therefore desirous of palliating some of 
 its imperfections, or that his mind had been bewil- 
 dered in the mazes of conflicting theories, certain it 
 was that he became incapable of discerning the true 
 principles of apiarian society. Acknowledging most 
 of the existing evils, he always maintained that they 
 could be more effectually overcome without abolishing 
 
 society, and in acts of beneficence. ' The sight of misery which 
 he could not reUeve,* says the author of his Eloge, ' rendered 
 Paris disagreeable to him.' " 
 
40 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 individual competition, by allowing a more unre- 
 stricted freedom of exertion to all the inhabitants of 
 the hive, and by establishing a more liberal policy 
 between the communities of the various hives in their 
 intercourse with each other. 
 
 "And what occasion," said Emilius, addressing 
 him, "can my friend have for such an intolerable load 
 of wealth ? Does the individual system impose so 
 much laborious exertion ? Had you, Orpheus, listen- 
 ed with more attention to the experimentalist who 
 visited us of late, you would have adopted a policy 
 less toilsome than the present, and equally abundant 
 in its supplies"." — "The scheme of a mere visionary!" 
 
 " " In medium quarunt is a tempting sentiment," says Mr. 
 Davison. " It seems to be in the way both to benevolence and 
 wealth. It is the sentiment by which the Roman poet has de- 
 scribed the ceconomy of a hive, and a still greater poet of our 
 own has told us that the inhabitants of a hive may teach * the 
 art of order to a peopled kingdom.' But men are not bees, as 
 in many respects, so in this : that the love of property, exclu- 
 sive property, and aversion from labour, make no part of the 
 natural history of that wise insect : but in man they are charac- 
 teristic : and they are set off in him one against another. They 
 ought to be kept well togctlier. He has his sympathies : but it 
 is not in the first instance \vith his hive, but within his cell, 
 within his family. The poor man's endeavours can hardly extend 
 any further. For him, the principle of joint labour and commu- 
 nity of acquisition is put where it ought to be, when it is in- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 41 
 
 exclaimed Orpheus ; " and much does it surprise the 
 community that a bee of your sagacity should pa- 
 tronize apian so impracticable and absurd. The ad- 
 vocates of that system maintain, that each bee will 
 have an ample supply of honey, — whence then will 
 arise the motives to exertion ? instead of busy bees, 
 we should have none but slothful and idle drones." 
 — " If," rejoined Emilius, " the most distinguished 
 success in practice is a proof of the futility of opi- 
 
 fused into his lesson of domestic duty. His capacity of feeling 
 and exertion is just commensurate with it there. It fills his lit- 
 tle circle; more is too much for him." — Considerations on the 
 Poor Laws, p. 19, bi/ John Davison, M.A. Fellow of Oriel College. 
 Unfortunately for Mr. Davison's argument, but happily for 
 poor traduced human nature, facts are opposed to this fallaci- 
 ous reasoning. Societies have existed, and still exist, in which 
 individual exclusive property is unknown, and where- labour is 
 more cheerfully performed, and a higher degree of enjoyment 
 and happiness attained, than in any communities founded upon 
 the principle of individual competition. Lycurgus established an 
 equality of property. The Essenes, a sect of the Jews, are de- 
 scribed as " exceeding all other men that addict themselves to 
 virtue," and, " having all things in common." The more modern 
 instances are the celebrated establishments of the Jesuits in 
 Paraguay, the Moravians, the Shakers, and the Harmonists in 
 Indiana. In consequence of the superstitious opinions prevailing 
 in these societies, they afford very imperfect examples of the su- 
 perior advantages to be derived by communities of cooperation 
 composed of an intelligent people unrestricted by prejudice in 
 
42 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 nions, then might the experimentalist be deemed a 
 visionary. But that a system resting exclusively 
 upon the broad basis of demonstrable truths, should 
 yet be rejected by intelligent bees, can only be ac- 
 counted for by the prejudices that have hindered 
 them from giving the subject due consideration. 
 When it is seen that no greater exertions are neces- 
 sary for the general welfare than are consistent w^ith, 
 or essential to,*individual health, the bees will be 
 anxious for employment ; and they will derive addi- 
 tional pleasure from the employment itself, when they 
 know that the work about which they are engaged 
 conduces to the public good, and that a full share of 
 
 the pursuit of knowledge and happiness. When we know that 
 a given number of individuals, aided by all the modern disco- 
 veries in science, could produce much more than they can have 
 occasion for, is it probable that any one would desire more than 
 he could use, while the storehouses were at all times supera- 
 bounding ? Water is coveted beyond all price by those who are 
 crossing the burning sands of Arabia : — but does the inhabitant 
 of a town desire more than is sufficient to allay his thirst when 
 the conduit is flowing at all hours in the day ? I\Ir. Davison may 
 prescribe rules for the poor man, who will soon be as difficult to 
 find, as now, and in times past, the honest man. Strange that 
 in a country saturated with wealth, poverty should be known 
 except by name. Men will not be less estimable in their do- 
 mestic characters by an expansion of mind and that enlarged be- 
 nevolence which contemplates the happiness of all mankind. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 43 
 
 their produce is secured to each. With the training 
 the bees will experience under these arrangements, 
 idleness would be insupportable." 
 
 " Utility — " He was here interrupted by the arri- 
 val of a bee of a more slender form, of brilliant ap- 
 pearance, and who moved about with uncommon 
 agility : his name was Poeticus, and his chief amuse- 
 ment was to wander about contemplating and de- 
 scribing in glowing language the beauties of nature. 
 Soihetimes he would sing of the contests upon the 
 Pentland Hills, and the call to arms ; at others he 
 would select the prevailing follies and vices in the 
 hives, and hold them up to ridicule. He obtained 
 his supply of honey from other bees, who gave it in 
 return for the delight his compositions afforded them. 
 He was well skilled in most languages : — for it should 
 be related, that after the communities in all the hives 
 had abandoned the plans of nature at the period of 
 the revolution, they gradually diverged into different 
 policies, still retaining the competitive principle. 
 With these changes, a diversity of language sprang 
 up ; and instead of the former expressions of nature 
 universally intelligible, each community had a differ- 
 ent word for the same idea ; so that it became ne- 
 cessary for those who desired to go from one hive to 
 another, to devote much previous time to the study 
 
44 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 of the different dialects. The multitude, the unin- 
 formed bees, were taught to look up to those who 
 were acquainted with many languages as the most 
 highly gifted and intelligent bees ; whereas their 
 learning amounted to no more than the ability to 
 give various denominations to the same thing, — to 
 call honey, /leXt, mel, I^OJlt^, or miel. 
 
 Such was the character of Poeticus : for although 
 he was enainoured of the charms of nature, he 
 had rarely sufficient perseverance to investigate phi- 
 losophical principles ; he possessed little scientific 
 information, and was equally ignorant of the apiarian 
 springs of action. Poeticus had heard the conclud- 
 ing sentence of Emilius, and with his usual vivacity 
 remarked "that he could not endure any system, the 
 objects of which were confined to utilitarian insipi- 
 dity ; repressing the efl^orts of genius, and devoting 
 their whole lives to objects of mere necessity, — thus 
 sinking the bees into a droning uniformity^, divest- 
 ing existence of half its pleasures, and depriving the 
 satirical poet of his lawful game." 
 
 " When at a public meeting the objection was advanced 
 against societies of joint property, that they would make mere 
 machines of men, it was happily replied by a distinguished ora- 
 tor, " that if such an effect were produced, they would become 
 machines of which intellect would be the moving spring." 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 43 
 
 "You mistake," said Emilius, "in supposing that 
 the proposed system aims at abridging the pleasures 
 of the bees. On the contrary, the CBconomy of the 
 arrangements will so far facilitate the production of 
 honey, that more time will remain for recreation, 
 while the institutions are calculated to generate a 
 taste for all that is beautiful in nature. He must be a 
 sorry poet who will be at a loss for a subject unless the 
 disorders of the hive are perpetuated, and who can 
 
 * Look then abroad through nature to the range 
 Of planets, suns, and adamantine spheres 
 Wheeling unshaken through the void immense,' 
 
 Akenside. 
 
 and not find a legitimate theme for the display of 
 exalted genius." Poeticus, apparently chagrined at 
 this concluding remark, skipped to the extremity of 
 the flower, and spreading his wings was soon out of 
 sight. Orpheus gathered up the load which he had 
 laid down during the discussion, and pleading some 
 appointment as an excuse for the suddenness of his 
 departure, commenced his laborious flight. Emilius, 
 however, perceived that the real cause of the termi- 
 nation of the conference was indifference towards 
 his favourite scheme; and he returned with dejected 
 spirits to his cell, in utter despair of convincing the 
 bees of truths the most essential to their happiness. 
 
46 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 A few days afterwards, as Emilius was meditating 
 in his cell, he heard a gentle tap at the entrance, 
 and was surprised with a visit from Orpheus. " I am 
 come," said he, " to invite you to one of the courts of 
 justice, to hear the trial of a very young worker, who 
 has had the audacity to pick one of my wax-pockets." 
 
 Emilius, thinking that the occasion might afford 
 an opportunity for some useful reflections, accom- 
 panied his friend without hesitation ; and they flew 
 away to that part of the district on the hills where 
 the trial was to be held ; for it was usual to try 
 prisoners for offences near the spot where they were 
 committed, and the Judicatores with the parapher- 
 nalia of justice and all their attendants moved from 
 place to place for that purpose. 
 
 When the two friends arrived at the spot, the 
 bees were beginning to assemble, and preparations 
 were making to receive the Judicatores with demon- 
 strations of joy. This was somewhat irreconcileable 
 to the feelings of Emilins, who had inquired respect- 
 ing the delinquents, as to the nature of their offences 
 and general condition. He was grieved to learn that 
 they were mostly very young and much dejected. 
 
 While observing the bees that were passing and 
 repassing, he descried Poeticus among the crowd, 
 and beckoned him to join them. " And how is it 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 47 
 
 that you are present at this melancholy scene''" said 
 Emilius. 
 
 " Melancholy scene ! " replied Poeticus, " have you 
 not heard of the butterfly's ball, — and that we also 
 intend to get up a ball this very night?" 
 
 "What!" rejoined Emilius, "do you intend to 
 promote gaiety while so many miserable bees are here 
 in dreadful suspense of losing their lives ? — none but 
 butterflies would think of dancing at such a ball." 
 
 " You, Emilius, are far too rigid; wherever a num- 
 ber of bees are assembled, there are animation and 
 buoyancy of spirits, and it is desirable now and then 
 to drive away the cares of life. As for the bees who 
 have committed depredations, they must, for the 
 general safety, be punished or removed from the 
 hives. If we are to dwell with painful commiseration 
 on the fate of all whom the law condemns, our lives 
 would be one continued series of sorrow and lamen- 
 tation. These evils always have existed, and always 
 will exist y." 
 
 The bustle that now took place announced the 
 
 y This reply is the ordinary refuge of the indolent and unre- 
 flecting. Bishop Butler remarks : " And just so we niight have 
 argued, before experience, concerning the remedies provided in 
 nature for bodily diseases, to which by nature we are exposed ; 
 for many of these were unknown to mankind for a number of 
 
48 THE RE\'OLT Ol THE BEES. 
 
 approach of the Jiidicatores, and several of the bees 
 in office went forth to receive them. On the follow- 
 ing morning the court assembled ; and the criminals, 
 although they dreaded the day of trial, were so much 
 worn down by delay that they had become anxious 
 for the decision of their fate. Emilius and his friend 
 took a station in one corner, from whence they 
 could observe all the proceedings. As the criminals 
 were led forth with drooping heads and lacerated 
 wings, Emilius was shocked at their forlorn appear- 
 ance. They were in general very young workers, and 
 had all been placed under circumstances less fortu- 
 nate than those through which the Judicatores who 
 presided at their trials had passed. There were 
 two or three older than the rest, and whose offences 
 were of a more aggravated character. The evidence 
 against them was most conclusive; but owing to 
 some trifling informality in the proceedings they 
 contrived to escape. 
 
 It was late in the day before the young worker who 
 had picked the wax-pocket of Orpheus was brought 
 out. He was of a delicate frame, and there was 
 
 ages ; are known but to few now ; some important ones pro- 
 bably not discovered yet; and those which are, neither certain 
 in their apphcation, nor universal in their use," — Preface to 
 Analogy of' Religion Natural and Revealed. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 49 
 
 a degree of interest in his appearance which toge- 
 ther with his extreme youth excited the sympathy 
 of the whole court. "Surely," exclaimed Emihus, 
 you would not think of visiting with punishment 
 one so young ? " « The younger," repUed Orpheus, 
 " the more necessary the punishment, to arrest his 
 progress in evil courses." 
 
 The charge was fully substantiated ; and after the 
 Judicator had condemned him to imprisonment, he 
 admonished him to pursue a more virtuous course on 
 his liberation. 
 
 The youthful prisoner was about to be led from 
 the bar, when in feeble accents he begged permis- 
 sion to address the court. The application was al- 
 together so new, and the occasion so interesting, 
 that he was listened to with mute attention, while 
 he thus expressed himself. 
 
 " I feel so poignantly the ignominy of my present 
 situation, that I hope I shall be excused in detaihng 
 a few particulars of my past hfe, not as affording 
 any justification of the deed for which I stand con- 
 victed, but as some extenuation of my general cha- 
 racter. — I was born in a loathsome part of the hive, 
 and scarcely had I emerged from the pupa state 
 when I found myself surrounded by vicious bees, 
 who taught me to practise deceit, to pass my time 
 
50 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 in idleness, and to live by plunder. Once upon a 
 time, when I was hardly capable of reflection, I do 
 remember that the lamentable condition of our por- 
 tion of the hive attracted the notice of some humane 
 bees ; and their opinions and advice, although new to 
 me, were still so consolatory, that my mind was ex- 
 hilarated by some glimmering hopes of better days. 
 They told me that if I would follow their instruc- 
 tions I should soon learn to take delight in beholding 
 the lilies of the valley, and in collecting the sweet- 
 est honey from the rose of Sharon. My mind was 
 deriving some amendment from their benevolent ef- 
 forts ; but too often these benefits were rendered in- 
 effectual by the contagion of bad example : and as it 
 was not in the power of my humane friends to im- 
 prove the circumstances surrounding me, while they 
 imparted the most useful truths, I became the vic- 
 tim of the demoralizing influence of vicious asso- 
 ciates. The Judicator advises me henceforward 
 to pursue a different course. Most gladly would I 
 extricate myself from the thraldom of vice and mi- 
 sery ; but woful experience has proved that the afflu- 
 ent bees will not employ those who have once ap- 
 peared as culprits at the bar of justice." 
 
 The Judicator remarked, that it was his duty 
 solely to judge according to the laws, and that it was 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 51 
 
 not for him to regulate the circumstances or to frame 
 the institutions of the hive. That task devolved 
 upon the learned civilians, aided by the still more 
 learned apiarian oeconomists. He acknowledged 
 that the young worker had made a powerful appeal, 
 and humanely promised that his case should be 
 taken into consideration. 
 
 The court broke up, and through the intercession 
 of Emilius a pardon was obtained for the culprit. 
 Emilius took him into his own service, and by kind 
 and judicious treatment and instruction he became 
 one of the most industrious and faithful of bees. 
 
 Often would Emilius remind his friend Orpheus, 
 that besides precept, example and other circum- 
 stances strongly impressed the mind, and that a com- 
 bination of their best influences was essential to the 
 formation of superior characters y. 
 
 A few years after the revolution, and towards the 
 close of summer, a war broke out on the Pentland 
 
 y The benevolent advocates for universal instruction should 
 consider, that by investigating and adopting plans for improving 
 the circumstances of the working classes, they would disarm 
 their opponents of one of their most powerful arguments. How 
 often has it been reiterated, that since education has become so 
 general, crime, and more especially juvenile delinquency, have 
 alarmingly increased. As if vice were the offspring of intelli- 
 gence ! 
 
 E 2 
 
52 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Hills, in which all the bees were engaged either ac- 
 tively or as spectators, and it was carried on with a 
 ferocious obstinacy unexampled in the annals of api- 
 arian warfare. After much desultory fighting, a ge- 
 neral engagement took place, which lasted two days, 
 when upwards of three millions were left dead upon 
 the field of battle : the victory was still doubtful, 
 although one of the contending parties retired. On 
 the third day the army that had quitted the field re- 
 turned, when the contest was renewed with redoubled 
 vio"our, and deeds of heroism were performed, which, 
 if they had not inflicted misery upon others, might 
 have been worthy of imitation, and esteemed glorious. 
 As the sun went dow n, the raging of the battle ceased, 
 but the stillness of the night was disturbed by the 
 cries and the shrieks of the wounded. Soon after 
 midnight, when those who had escaped without 
 wounds were reposing after their toils and dangers, 
 they were suddenly awoke by a tremulous motion of 
 the hills ; a light mist was seen to arise between the 
 two armies ; and in the midst there appeared a human 
 form of majestic and graceful stature, with a coun- 
 tenance indicating some concern, but beaming with 
 mildness and intelhgence. 
 
 " You behold," said the figure, " the spirit of Allan 
 Ramsay : ever and anon I haunt my favourite streams 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 53 
 
 and verdant hills, chosen by me when sojourning on 
 earth as the suitable abode of innocence ; but of late 
 these peaceful scenes have been disturbed by tumults 
 before unheard-of, and this night I walk the hills 
 to learn the ominous cause. But alas ! that cause is 
 too apparent in this melancholy spectacle of the 
 dying and the dead. Was it for this that the Mantuan 
 bard sung your praises ? — has not the oeconomy of 
 the hive been held up to the world as the model of 
 a perfect commonwealth ? Whence then this direful 
 change ? and where in the whole range of animated 
 nature can you discover a single instance of beings 
 of the same species destroying each other V* 
 
 The bees were much agitated by the appearance 
 of this unexpected mediator, and more so by his ani- 
 mated and pointed address. They ran to and fro in 
 great consternation. At length there was a general 
 cry for Orpheus to stand forth and vindicate their 
 policy. — The ranks opened and permitted him to 
 pass, with the same respect and attention as they 
 were wont to pay to the queen bees. 
 
 •' You have demanded, most illustrious and gentle 
 spirit," said Orpheus, " in what order of the creation 
 we can observe an example of individuals destroying 
 others of the same species. It will, we presume, be 
 deemed sufficient if we adduce one only, since that 
 
54 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 example will be found in a class of beings claiming 
 the highest pre-eminence, and holding all others in 
 subjection. You will perceive that we refer to that 
 order of which you were a distinguished ornament, 
 and exempt from the general failing, when your lyre 
 was sweetly strung in the vale of Pentland^." 
 
 The spirit, gracefully extending his arm, spoke as 
 follows : "Attend, Orpheus, and you misguided bees, 
 to what I shall unfold. — As far back as the records 
 of time allow us to trace, we discover a marked dif- 
 ference between man and the rest of the animal cre- 
 ation : each species of bird builds its nest in a pecu- 
 liar manner, and one generation following another, dis- 
 plays the same undeviating instinct^; nor have they 
 
 ' Allan Ramsay had certainly forgotten some of the occur- 
 rences on the surface of the glohe ; for spiders will sometimes 
 destroy each other, and rats also have evinced the same pro- 
 pensity ; so that we know of three instances at least : viz. spiders, 
 rats, and men ! He is, however, not singular in this opinion ; 
 for the amiable Fenelon has remarked, " Les hommes sont tous 
 freres, et ils s'entre-dechirent : les betes farouches sont moins 
 cruelles. Les lions ne font point la guerre aux lions, ni les 
 tigres aux tigresj ils n'attaquent que les animaux d'espece 
 differente : Thomrae seul, nialgre sa raison, fait ce que les ani- 
 maux sans raison ne firent jamais." — Telemague, livre 17. 
 
 =* " There are, moreover, some actions of the beasts so ordered 
 and directed, as plainly discover them to be the effects of some 
 small degree of reason ; as is most manifest in ants and bees, 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 66 
 
 scarcely any variation in their food, except from ac- 
 cidental necessity. The beaver and the tiger have 
 for thousands of years, preserved the same distinc- 
 tive character, equally well instructed in the earliest 
 period of their history as in the present day. Not so 
 with man : — born in a more helpless condition, he 
 would have soon fallen a prey to other animals, had he 
 not been endowed with a superior faculty amply com- 
 pensating for his inferior strength. His powers of rea- 
 soning are greater or less according to the number 
 and correctness of his ideas. The new-born infant 
 is therefore destitute of reason, and in youth it is 
 less powerful than in the adult man. Analogous in 
 some degree to the advance of the individual, is the 
 progress of knowledge and power in the history of 
 the species. In the infancy'* of society the paucity 
 
 and also in some others, which, before they have experienced 
 them, will avoid things hurtful and seek those that are profitable 
 to them. That this power of searching out and distinguishing 
 is not properly in themselves, is apparent from hence, because 
 they act always alike." — Grotiux, book 1. section 2. 
 
 '' " The opinion which men entertain of antiquity is a very 
 idle thing, and almost incongruous to the word ; for the old age 
 and length of days of the world should, in reality, be accounted 
 antiquity, and ought to be attributed to our own times, not to 
 the youth of the world, which it enjoyed among the ancients; 
 for that age, though with respect to us it be ancient and greater, 
 yet with regard to the world it was new and less. And as we 
 
56 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 of his ideas, and consequently the hmited means of 
 forming the judgement, enabled man to discover no 
 other mode of obtaining his food and raiment but 
 by hunting and fishing : the gradual accumulation 
 of ideas led him on successively to the pastoral, the 
 agricultural, the commercial and manufacturing state ; 
 and now he is enabled to produce wealth in super- 
 fluity. A still further advance will conduct him to 
 a knowledge of those principles of political and do- 
 mestic ceconomy, which, when once recognized as 
 the science of human society, will lead to a beneficial 
 distribution of his riches, and finally to universal 
 peace." 
 
 Emilius, who had been occupied during the night 
 in administering to the relief of the wounded, listened 
 with intense interest to this address. He now ad- 
 vanced, and appealing to the spirit observed : " We 
 have been doubly wrong ; first, in departing from that 
 
 justly expect a greater knowledge of things, and a riper judge- 
 ment, from a man of years than from a youth, on account of the 
 greater experience and the greater variety and number of things 
 seen, heard, and thought of by tlie person in years, so might 
 much greater matters be justly expected from the present age, 
 (if it kneiv but its own strength, and would make trial and apply,) 
 than from former times; as this is the more advanced age of the 
 world, and now enriched and furnished with infinite experi- 
 ments and observations." — Lord Bacon. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 57 
 
 policy to which instinct had directed us as best suited 
 to our nature ; and secondly, in following the exam- 
 ple of man before his reason had become matured." 
 
 " If by the maturity of reason," replied the spirit, 
 " be meant that fullness of knowledge in which man 
 shall be acquainted with every fact in nature, who 
 will venture to predict that that period shall ever 
 arrive ? But if you refer to that clear perception of 
 particular truths which, commanding universal assent 
 by their consistency, become the principles of sci- 
 ence, mankind can offer no example worthy of imi- 
 tation in the conduct of their affairs. If a system in 
 all respects adapted to the faculties and exigencies 
 of man were once put in practice by a single commu- 
 nity, that system would speedily be applied in every 
 country where the light of knowledge was admitted. 
 Survey the most civilized portions of the globe, and 
 you there behold a variety of forms of government, 
 but none without the germs of discord and misery, 
 abundantly testifying that the reason of man in the 
 art of legislation is to this day crude and imperfect." 
 
 " But whence does it arise," said Orpheus, "that 
 man should not have been able to discover truth on 
 a subject of such vital importance to his happiness, 
 and one which it might have been expected would 
 engross his whole attention?" 
 
58 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 " Truth," replied the spirit, " can be elicited only 
 by observation and experiment. The mechanic who 
 invents a superior implement in husbandry, con- 
 structs the machine without the necessity of pre- 
 viously convincing the judgement of others : but the 
 theorist in legislation is unable to exhibit his com- 
 bined principles in operation without the aid of large 
 numbers ; and as a sufficient number of individuals 
 cannot for a time be induced to co-operate, he is 
 compelled to wait the further progress of knowledge 
 for his practical illustration*^." 
 
 " But without this practical experiment," rejoined 
 Orpheus, " my friend Emilius has ventured to extol 
 a scheme recently promulgated, but which was 
 
 ' " The Deity seems to have said to man, * I endow tliee 
 with sensibility, the blind instrument of my will, that being in- 
 capable of penetrating into the depth of my views, thou mayest 
 accomplish all my designs. I place thee under the guardian- 
 ship of pleasure and pain; both shall watch over thy thoughts 
 and thy actions; they shall beget thy passions, excite thy friend- 
 ship, thy tenderness, thine aversion, thy rage : they shall kindle 
 ihy desires, thy fears, thy hopes; they shall take off the veil of 
 truth; they shall plunge thee in error, and after having made 
 thee conceive a thousand absurd and different systems of mo- 
 rality and government, shall one day discover to thee the simple 
 principles, on the unfolding of which depends the order and 
 happiness of the moral world.' " — Helvetius. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 59 
 
 deemed chimerical by the bees in general, and con- 
 sequently rejected." 
 
 " I had long since," said Emilius, " by contem- 
 plation, detected the causes of good and evil under 
 our existing polity; and having patiently and tho- 
 roughly investigated the plan which was first pro- 
 posed to mankind, I found it a combination of those 
 principles alone, that have ever been productive of 
 good order and happiness in society." 
 
 Upon this allusion to the science of Social Union, 
 the Genius displayed great animation, and thus re- 
 plied : " I heard of that inimitable system, and 
 hailed it as the fruition of those cheering and 
 delightful anticipations in which poets and phi- 
 losophers of all preceding ages have indulged. It 
 is true, as Emilius has stated, that it was pre- 
 viously offered to mankind, but their prejudices for 
 a time have hindered them from forming a just esti- 
 mate of its merits, and from perceiving the glorious 
 prospects that await them upon its general adoption. 
 As you, Orpheus, and others, have been misled in at- 
 tempting to follow the example of mankind while 
 they were ignorant of the most important of all the 
 sciences, I will exercise that power which belongs 
 to the spirit of poetry, and conduct you to a spot 
 from whence you shall behold communities formed 
 
60 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 upon true principles, and nearly a century in ad- 
 vance of the present period. I direct you to as- 
 semble on the Hills tomorrow about midnight, when 
 I will again appear. In the mean time collect the 
 dead bodies, and having burnt them, deposit the 
 ashes in an urn to be erected as a lasting memorial 
 of your fatal departure from the laws of nature." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 "Umbritius here his sullen silence broke, 
 And turn'd on Rome indignant as he spoke, — 
 Since virtue droops, he cried, without regard, 
 And honest toil scarce hopes a poor reward ; 
 Since every morrow sees my means decay, 
 And still makes less the little of today ; 
 I hasten there where all his labours past. 
 The flying artist found repose at last *," 
 
 Giffbrd's Juvenal, 3d Satire. 
 
 On the following night the bees were assembled on 
 the Hills in considerable numbers long before the 
 appointed hour. At midnight the genius of Allan 
 Ramsay was seen to arise surrounded by an immense 
 cloud, which opening in front displayed his fioure 
 at full length ; although no flame was visible, the 
 whole was exceedingly luminous. His hair of lio-ht 
 brown was entwined with a chaplet of flowers, in 
 
 * Perhaps there can be found no better commentary upon 
 the evils inflicted by individual competition upon ancient Rome, 
 than is contained in the Satires of Juvenal. For a commentary 
 upon the dissensions, follies, and misery, springing from tlie 
 same source in modern times, consult the columns of a daily 
 newspaper. 
 
62 THE RFA'OLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 which the purple bloom of hether was conspicuous ; 
 he wore a long flowing robe of violet silk, and as he 
 arose, he waved a silver wand. The anticipation of 
 beholding the future destinies of mankind animated 
 his countenance with the glow of enthusiastic delight. 
 He elevated the wand high above his head, and the 
 queen bee Elia alighting upon the end was followed 
 by others, until the whole were collected in one glit- 
 tering ball. The sound of cymbals was heard as if 
 proceeding from the valley, and, distance softening 
 the tones, produced a pleasing melody. As the bees 
 entered within the sphere of the light they assumed 
 a most brilliant appearance, and when united, resem- 
 bled a globe of rubies and emeralds, or, as Virgil has 
 described the queen bees, " resplendent with gold 
 and purple." Poeticus was an exception to the 
 rest : exhilarated with the splendour of the scene, he 
 could scarcely rest an instant in one place, but was 
 seen flitting about displaying his gay and brilliant 
 colours. The cloud majestically rose, and bearing 
 away this beautiful vision to the western country, 
 rested on the summit of Ben Lomond. 
 
 The bees separated as soon as they had reached 
 the mountain, and ranged themselves in circles 
 round the spirit, who waved his wand ; and the cloud 
 gradually disappearing, he addressed them as follows. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 63 
 
 " Perhaps there is not a more striking contrast 
 between the old and new systems of society, than that 
 which is exhibited in the disposition of their d weHings. 
 Under the former, mankind were congregated in 
 towns or large cities, some of which contained many 
 hundred thousand persons ; the houses were so 
 crowded together, that the inhabitants could scarcely 
 move without annoyance, inhaling an unwholesome 
 atmosphere, and deprived of the view of a single green 
 leaf. It might have been imagined that the predict- 
 ed and fatal period was arrived when the earth 
 should be so completely occupied as to admit of no 
 further increase of population ; and yet within a few 
 miles of these cities, the most beautiful parts of the 
 country were found to be perfect solitudes. 
 
 "Under the new system, mankind have in the first 
 instance selected the most favourable and agreeable 
 situations, and the buildings are so arranged as to 
 afford the advantages both of large cities and coun- 
 try residences, without the inconveniences of either ; 
 combining the pleasures of the various and intelli- 
 gent society of the foi-mer, with the pure air and 
 healthful exercises of the latter. 
 
 "The stupendous mountain upon which you are 
 assembled, rises, as you will perceive at break of day, 
 from the borders of an extensive lake in which there 
 
64 THF. REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 are about thirty islands. On the other side and to 
 the north, are mountains of less magnitude ; on the 
 south, the lake is terminated by a small river, the 
 Leven, which runs into the Clyde. There are about 
 twenty-five communities in the intermediate vici- 
 nity of the lake, each consisting of two thousand 
 persons. The smaller islands belong to different 
 communities, but the larger ones are the joint pro- 
 perty of the whole. Upon the largest, there is a 
 marble building of the Doric order, of considerable 
 dimensions, in the form of the Parthenon at Athens, 
 of which it is externally an exact representation, 
 except in size being rather larger. In this, dele- 
 gates from the different communities assemble to 
 deliberate upon subjects of local interest, and upon 
 such undertakings as may require the united efforts 
 of many communities to achieve. It is also used for 
 music-meetings, when held upon a larger scale than 
 usual. 
 
 " Upon some of the other islands are edifices 
 erected in the different orders of Grecian architec- 
 ture, affording an illustration of the science so con- 
 spicuously, as to be seen by most of the communi- 
 ties : for the convenience of the students there is a 
 museum for every four communities, so placed as to 
 be equally distant from all, and of course very near to 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 65 
 
 each : but in one of the Grecian structures on the 
 islands is a museum, on a much larger scale, devoted 
 to the most curious specimens of natural history, and 
 such as every museum could not be supplied with ; 
 indeed all its specimens are exceedingly rare, and in 
 many instances unique. 
 
 " In another island is a botanic garden containing 
 some very fine exotics : there is also a flower garden 
 of great interest and beauty : — to visit these is only 
 an occasional pleasure, each community having small- 
 er botanic and flower gardens of its own. One of the 
 islands is the resort of foreign aquatic birds, of which 
 there is a very large collection. Others are devoted 
 to menageries, where the animals are kept as much 
 in their native state as possible; — the bears have 
 trees to climb, the elephants space to move about, 
 and the ape to gambol. The assemblage forms the 
 fineat illustration of this branch of natural history 
 ever collected, and is considerably larger than the 
 celebrated Jardin des Planter at Paris. Before a 
 child is informed what a lion is, he is brought to 
 view the animal itself, as a living illustration of its 
 own history. 
 
 " At the foot of this mountain is a magnificent 
 Gothic temple richly ornamented with minarets and 
 friezes, and supported by clusters of slender pillars ; 
 
 F 
 
66 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the lofty windows of stained glass are of the most 
 brilliant colours. This edifice, surrounded by high 
 trees, with the mountain rising majestically in the 
 rear, forms from the opposite shore a truly pictu- 
 resque object. In this temple are deposited the re- 
 cords of the communities of Loch Lomond. It con- 
 tains an organ, which in magnitude and power and 
 in the harmony and variety of its tones surpasses the 
 celebrated one of Haarlem. In various parts of the 
 building are paintings executed in a style inferior to 
 none of the greatest masters^, representing land- 
 scapes, animals, birds, flowers, and portraits. There 
 are no paintings of battles or warriors ; for these, 
 with all other subjects peculiar to the barbarous 
 asfes are sinkinof fast into oblivion. In the centre 
 of the temple and under a lofty dome, from which is 
 suspended a very large and splendid chandelier. 
 
 *" If genius is innate, and the Arts are not indebted to a 
 variety and extent of knowledge, why were not the productions 
 of a Michael Angelo found among the paintings of Mexico? To 
 what excellence could not the art of painting be brought in a 
 community where all the individuals were highly intelligent, 
 and had been trained to admire whatever was noble and beau- 
 tiful in Nature! 
 
 " It is in vain," says Sir Joshua Reynolds, " for painters or 
 poets to endeavour to invent, without materials on which the 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. g; 
 
 there is a circular table formed of the whitest mar- 
 ble, surrounded by a rich gold lattice-work with 
 green silk fringe depending. This table is supported 
 by a figure exquisitely carved, and in the attitude of 
 kneehng. On the borders of the lake, between Tarbert 
 and Luss, are public baths about a mile distant from 
 each other, and connected in part by long colonnades 
 of the Ionic order and by gravel walks. There are 
 baths in each community, but to the pubhc baths 
 the members resort when they desn-e a change and 
 wish to see friends of other societies. 
 
 "Upon the first, second, and sometimes the third 
 ridges of the principal mountains, terraces are formed 
 with light balustrades encircling the mountains ;- 
 upon some, from whence finer views can be obtained, 
 they are found still higher. The waters which formerly 
 
 mind may work, and from which invention must originate 
 iNothmg can come of nothing. 
 
 _ "Homer is supposed to be possessed of all the learnino- of his 
 time; and we are certain that Michael Angelo and RafFaelle 
 were equally possessed of all the knowledge in the art which had 
 been discovered in the works of their predecessors 
 
 "A mind enriched by an assemblage of all the treasures of 
 ancient and modern art, will be more elevated and fruitful in 
 resources, in proportion to the number of ideas which have 
 been carefully collected and thoroughly digested."-6th Dis- 
 
 course, 
 
 f2 
 
68 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 settled on the ridges and occasioned swamps, are 
 now drained off, and descend in cascades variously 
 constructed by the aid of fragments of the rock. 
 Upon each terrace there are several huts and cot- 
 tag-es furnished with a select number of books for 
 the amusement of visitors : these cottages are all 
 in the ornamented rural style with neat wicker 
 gates in front, and are entwined with ivy and 
 honeysuckle, or surrounded with laurel and other 
 shrubs. In ascending from one ridge to another, 
 there are occasional seats ; some in the open air, 
 others in rustic temples, which at a distance resemble 
 fragments of rock, and are ornamented with shells 
 and moss : there are also seats in excavations having 
 the appearance of the openings of caverns. Upon the 
 smaller mountains, observatories are placed, as also 
 telegraphs communicating with other societies in va- 
 rious directions. In the groves and in various parts 
 of the mountains are statues, of the most exquisite 
 workmanship, of those who have been distinguished 
 by extraordinary powers of body or of mind. 
 
 " But the morning-star announces the approach 
 of day, and I perceive a troop of little children with 
 their attendants ascending the side of the opposite 
 mountain, in order to have a better view of the 
 rising sun. When they reach one of the resting- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 69 
 
 places, they will gather a herb possessing a heal- 
 ing quality, for the relief of some of the invalids, to 
 whom they will themselves present it. This act will 
 in itself prove grateful to their feelings ; but as the 
 principle of benevolence is of the highest importance 
 to individual and general happiness, it cannot be as- 
 sociated with too many agreeable sensations ^." 
 
 At the earliest dawn the bugle was sounded, and 
 answered successively by each community on the 
 borders of the lake. The birds began their songs, 
 as if to welcome the return of light ; and the lowing 
 of the cattle and the bleating of the sheep, together 
 with the movements of innumerable animals, appear- 
 ed as if all nature was reviving. As soon as the sun 
 had ascended the horizon, a scene of varied and 
 
 That the influence of early associations on the mind might 
 be employed, in the most effectual manner, to aid our moral 
 principles, appears evidently from the effects which we daily see 
 it produce, in reconciling men to a course of action which their 
 reason forces them to condemn: and it is no less obvious that, 
 by means of it, the happiness of human life might beincreasedj 
 and its pains diminished, if the agreeable ideas and feelings 
 which children are so apt to connect with events and with situ- 
 ations which depend on the caprice of fortune, were firmly as- 
 sociated in their apprehensions with the duties of their stations, 
 with the pursuits of science, and with those beauties of nature' 
 which are open to MrSlewart's Phil, of Mind, vol. i, p. 395. 
 
70 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 wonderful beauty was unfolded. The mountains, no 
 longer presenting an aspect of solitary grandeur, 
 with scarcely an inhabitant in the vicinity save here 
 and there a lonely shepherd, now wore the appear- 
 ance of presiding intelligence, and evinced that be- 
 ings capable of appreciating the sublimity and love- 
 liness of that highly favoured spot had become its 
 fit inhabitants. Numerous flocks of sheep were 
 browsing on the sides of the mountains, herds of 
 deer were seen in various directions, and the cattle 
 were grazing in the richest pastures. The meadows 
 and fields resembled parks and gardens : care and 
 attention had promoted the growth of trees new to 
 the situation, and the plantations were tastefully dis- 
 posed. The white stone of the buildings seen through 
 the foliage of the trees ; the various temples and co- 
 lonnades, the hanging woods, the intermixture of 
 knolls with crags of rock, and the elegant vessels 
 and boats upon the lake, formed a picture surpass- 
 ing description. At eight o'clock the bugles were 
 again sounded, announcing the breakfast. About 
 an hour after, the inhabitants came forth : — some 
 repaired to the fields, others to the manufactories 
 (which were invisible, from the buildings being sur- 
 rounded by plantations, and at sufficient distance to 
 prevent any noisy operation being heard) ; while 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 71 
 
 otliers resorted to the Athenseunis and libiaries as 
 their various pursuits directed. In some parts of the 
 mountains, in the colonnades and groves, groups were 
 seen conversing, and many couples in friendly com- 
 munion. 
 
 " Social friends 
 
 Attun'd to happy unison of soul ; 
 To whose exalting eye a fairer world, 
 Of which the vulgar never had a glimpse, 
 Displays its charms; whose minds are richly fraught 
 With philosophic stores, superior light ; 
 , And in whose breast, enthusiastic, burns 
 Virtue, the sons of interest deem romance; 
 To Nature's vast Lyceum, forth they walk 
 By that kind school where no proud master reigns. 
 The full free converse of the friendly heart 
 Improving and improv'd." — Thomson. 
 
 The females and children were engaged as well as 
 the men, in agriculture during the summer months ; 
 the fields were all cultivated in the garden style, 
 which, together with the custom of having all the 
 population more or less occupied in agricultural ex- 
 ercise, rendered the employment extremely light ; nor 
 were they engaged, unless they desired, for any 
 longer time than was absolutely necessary to the 
 preservation of health. During this avocation the 
 instruction of the children was going on : for as the 
 mode of teaching was chiefly verbal, and the various 
 
72 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 objects in natural history frequently presented 
 themselves, the intense curiosity of the young in- 
 quiring mind was excited. 
 
 About noon there was a sudden pause in the oc- 
 cupations, and all were directing their attention to 
 one of the telegraphs which was actively at work. 
 " I perceive," said Orpheus, " a considerable army 
 approaching, with colours flying and streamers float- 
 ing in the wind ; they appear to be returning from the 
 achievement of some important victory ^." 
 
 " You mistake," replied the spirit, " that army 
 has effected a conquest it is true; but it was a blood- 
 less triumph, for the elements were their opponents. 
 
 «• Mankind would long since have been disgusted with war, 
 if their rulers had not assigned to the profession of arms distin- 
 guished honours, and formed an unnatural alliance between 
 the destruction of human life and the fascinations of dress, of 
 military trappings and of music. Divested of these blandish- 
 ments, war appears in its native deformity : but such is their im- 
 posing effect, that even historians have been sometimes dazzled 
 by its " pomp and circumstance." Dr. Robertson, in his 
 account of the battle of Pavia, in which the Duke of Bour- 
 bon and the chivalrous Francis the First fought with great 
 bravery, describes " a gallant young monarch, seconded by a 
 o-enerous nobilit^', and followed by subjects to whose natural 
 impetuosity indignation at the opposition which they had en- 
 countered added new force, contended for victory and honour." 
 And he adds, "ten thousand men fell on this day, one of the 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 73 
 
 About four years since, the inhabitants of Batavia 
 were overwhelmed in distress by the breaking down 
 of the Schevehngen works, which had protected them 
 from the inroads of the ocean : a numerous band of 
 volunteers passed over, and, aided by the inhabitants, 
 have erected an impregnable barrier against the 
 further encroachments of the sea. They now re- 
 turn; and the trophies you behold are the testimo- 
 nials of gratitude and friendship from the natives of 
 Batavia : they bring also the best specimens of the 
 staple commodities of the country. You perceive 
 they are separating : the detachment belonging to 
 the communities of Loch Lomond enters the defile 
 
 most fatal France had ever seen.'' Here there is no expression 
 of sympathy for suffering humanity. But after describing the 
 ravages of the Vandals and the Huns, who were clothed in 
 skins and destitute of all other imposing appendage of war 
 except the battle-axe, he makes the following just reflection : 
 " It is shocking to follow these destroyers of mankind through 
 so many scenes of horror, and to contemplate the havock they 
 made of the human species." 
 
 Dr. Johnson observes : " The great community of mankind is 
 therefore necessarily broken into smaller independent societies ; 
 these form distinct interests, which are too frequently opposed 
 to each other, and which they who have entered into the league 
 of particular governments falsely think it virtue to promote, 
 however destructive to the happiness of the rest of the world." 
 —Rambler, No. 99. 
 
74 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 between Tarbert Hill and the Cobler Mountain : 
 they pass to the head of Loch Loug, and there they 
 will remain until the members of these communities 
 are prepared to go out to greet their arrival. This 
 ceremony and that which follows, are observed for 
 the purpose of impressing the occasion of their ab- 
 sence more strongly upon the minds of the children." 
 In about an hour the inhabitants, having changed 
 their apparel, repaired to meet their friends : a nu- 
 merous instrumental band was stationed up the side 
 of a steep hill where the cavalcade was to enter. 
 As they approached, the trumpets sounded, and 
 were answered by a flourish of trumpets from the 
 second terrace of Ben Lomond. Flags were instantly 
 flying on different stations throughout the vast am- 
 phitheatre, and the vessels were decorated with va- 
 rious colours. As soon as the cavalcade entered, 
 the band upon the hill played an impressive air of 
 the olden time, and the music reverberating along 
 the mountains produced a sublime effect. The pro- 
 cession was headed by a hundred girls dressed in 
 the Highland tartan with wreaths of flowers on their 
 heads, and a hundred boys also dressed in the High- 
 land costume and wearing blue bonnets : then came 
 three trumpeters on milk-white steeds richly capari- 
 soned : these were followed by the volunteers, each 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 75 
 
 walking- with a friend who had not been on the ex- 
 pedition ; some, however, were riding in light open 
 landaus with low wheels, and drawn by six Shetland 
 poneys : then proceeded caravans drawn by oxen 
 decorated with flowers and bearing presents from 
 Batavia. 
 
 When the cavalcade arrived on the margin of the 
 lake opposite the Gothic temple, boats were in readi- 
 ness to receive them : those in which the girls pass- 
 ed over, were fantastically ornamented with plants 
 and flowers, which gave them the appearance of 
 floating gardens. The boys went over in larger but 
 elegantly formed boats with awnings, and carried 
 with them some of the articles of mere curiosity 
 among the presents : the trophies also were placed 
 in the centre of the boats, and flags were flying at 
 the head and stern. The adults passed over in wider 
 boats surrounded by festoons of flowers supported 
 by some of the younger children, who took great 
 delight in their employment. The temple had very 
 large doors, which, when opened, displayed to those 
 on the opposite bank a considerable portion of the 
 interior, at the extremity of which the magnificent 
 organ might be seen. Additional decorations for 
 the temple had been for some time in preparation, 
 with the intention of introducing them on the first 
 
7(S THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 suitable occasion. Among them were statues in white 
 marble, very highly finished, representing the four 
 Seasons with emblematical devices ; — these were 
 placed at the corners of the temple. But there was 
 also a most beautiful ornament suspended at some 
 height over the table or altar in the centre ; it 
 was a canopy formed of flowers tastefully intermix- 
 ed, and crowned with a bouquet of white and red 
 roses : the edge of the canopy was studded with 
 diamonds, and the lining was of light blue silk with 
 silver tufts. This canopy was suspended by threads 
 and lines so fine as to be invisible at a short distance. 
 An immense concourse of spectators was assembled 
 on the banks of the lake and upon the sides of the 
 mountains. 
 
 When the procession landed, they advanced to 
 the sound of music, and entered the temple in the 
 same order they had observed before. A num- 
 ber of the girls danced gracefully round the marble 
 table, and formed a semicircle between that and the 
 organ ; the remainder divided, and ranged themselves 
 in the same form on the right and left. The boys 
 danced in the same order, and took their stations 
 beyond the girls. The children then followed and 
 stood round the table, still holding up the garlands 
 of flowers, but leaving a space for the adults to ap- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. ^ 
 
 proach and deposit the trophies. Hitherto the mu- 
 sic had consisted of the softest strains ; but the mo- 
 ment the trophies were laid upon the table, the organ 
 burst forth with inconceivable grandeur. After play- 
 ing for some time, the girls and boys sang singly 
 and together, alternately, and occasionally with a 
 few of the adults ; the ceremony concluded with a 
 full chorus. There appeared to be no distinction 
 between those who had been on the expedition and 
 those who had not, as all sympathized in the calami- 
 ties of the Batavians, and would have been equally 
 desirous of contributing their aid had it been requi- 
 site. — The visit to the temple being over, they re- 
 passed the lake, and then departed to their respec- 
 tive communities. 
 
 Orpheus now began to think that the co-opera- 
 tive arrangements were not altogether so objection- 
 able as he had supposed, even for mankind ; and 
 Emilius was delighted to behold his rejected princi- 
 ples so incontestably and beautifully illustrated. 
 Even Poeticus acknowledged that he had at last 
 found an admirable subject for an epic ; and that vice, 
 misery and folly, were no longer essential to his 
 muse : " But where," said he, "are the bards ? where 
 are we to look for the Tyrtaeus of Loch Lomond ? " 
 
 " Whether," said the Spirit, " Poetry implies an 
 
78 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 enthusiastic admiration and love of nature, or an ex- 
 tended acquaintance with the works of the creation, 
 united with a fehcity of description, and a skill and 
 taste in forming new combinations of ideas, you 
 have beheld none today who are not more or less in 
 possession of these constituents of genuine poetry : 
 it is true that some are gifted with such powers in a 
 higher degree than others, but they are all imbued 
 with the poetry of thought^. By the influence of 
 this wand you have been able and will continue to hear 
 and see whatever passes in the communities that may 
 be essential for you to know. You observed among 
 the spectators of this day's ceremonies, an indi- 
 vidual richly attired in the Oriental costume : he is 
 the son of a Persian satrap of considerable eminence 
 
 *" Justly has it been remarked by Locke, " that all those sub- 
 lime thoughts which tower above the clouds, and reach as high 
 as heaven itself, take their rise and footing here : in all that 
 good extent wherein the mind wanders, in those remote specu- 
 lations it may seem to be elevated with, it stirs not one jot be- 
 yond those ideas which sense or reflection have offered for its 
 contemplation." 
 
 The variety and intensity of intellectual pleasures must in 
 a great degree depend upon the number of truths with which 
 the individual is acquainted; for by such means only, combined 
 with reflection, the consequence of knowledge, can the powers 
 of judgement be improved. Now all men whose organization 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 79 
 
 in his own country, and travels in search of informa- 
 tion. He is a most accomplished scholar, and has 
 devoted so much attention to English literature, that 
 there are few of our authors with whose works he is 
 not familiar ; he is passionately fond of the Greek 
 and Roman classics. On his route he visited the 
 ruins of Athens and of Rome. His name is Saadi. He 
 is descended from the Persian poet and philosopher 
 of that name, and " who was born at Shiraz, the capi- 
 tal of Persia Proper, about the beginning of the 
 twelfth century. Of Saadi's ancestor it is related, 
 that he was driven from his country by the ravages 
 of the Turks ; that he wandered through various 
 scenes during a period of forty years, and was at 
 length taken prisoner by the Franks in the Holy Land, 
 and condemned to work on the fortifications of Tri- 
 
 is not imperfect; are capable of acquiring knowledge to an ex- 
 tent of which we can at present form but an inadequate idea. 
 What so calculated to enlarge and fill the mind with admiration 
 as Astronomy ? and yet some of the truths in this science, once 
 deemed so abstruse, and comprehended only by a Newton, are 
 now within the reach of every capacity. When the minds of the 
 great mass of mankind are no longer permitted to lie waste, 
 but shall be properly cultivated, and under the genial influence 
 of equitable institutions, a taste for intellectual enjoyments and 
 for the pleasures of the imagination, will become as general as 
 the desire for bodily nutriment. 
 
80 THE REVOLT OF rilK BEES. 
 
 poll. A merchant of Aleppo redeemed him from 
 slaveiy, and gave him his daughter's hand^ with a 
 hundred sequins as a marriage portion. Her petu- 
 lance and ill-humour rendered him more miserable 
 than he had ever been during his long and painful 
 captivity. One day she asked him whether he was 
 not the slave her father had redeemed for ten se- 
 quins. ' Yes/ replied Saadi, 'but he sold me again 
 for one hundred.' This ingenious philosopher had a 
 friend, who being suddenly elevated to an important 
 post was resorted to and complimented by all the 
 citizens. 'These people,' said he, 'crowd around 
 him merely on account of his dignity ; but I shall go 
 when his office has expired, and then I am sure I 
 shall go alone.' A man who had quitted the society 
 of Dervises for that of the Philosophers, asked Saadi 
 what difference he thought there was between their 
 characters. ' Both of them,' replied he, ' swim 
 across a turbulent stream with their respective bre- 
 thren. The dervise separates himself from the rest 
 to swim with greater safety, and arrives in solitude on 
 shore ; but the true philosopher continues in society, 
 ready to lend a helping hand to his brethren in 
 distress ^'" I repeat these anecdotes as illustrative of 
 
 • Zimmerman. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 81 
 
 liis character, because Saadi partakes much of the 
 disposition and intellectual endowments of his an- 
 cestor. Several of the community where he has 
 taken up his residence are appointed to attend upon 
 this illustrious stranger. Among his attendants is 
 an intelligent youth named Douglas, for whom he 
 has conceived a sincere friendship. For the sake of 
 retirement, and also to afford Saadi a view of the fine 
 scenery by moonlight, Douglas has invited him to a 
 promenade at a late hour this evening upon the se- 
 cond terrace of the small mountain rising immedi- 
 ately above Tarbert : you will thus most probably 
 have an opportunity of hearing some arguments in 
 favour of each system, the Co-operative and the 
 Competitive S." 
 
 s We are indebted for this expressive adjective to the author 
 of the most able work upon Political Economy that has ap- 
 peared since the " Wealth of Nations." In acute analytical in- 
 vestigation, in just and comprehensive views of society, and 
 in bold uncompromising exposition of error the " Distribution 
 of Wealth," by Mr. William Thompson, is perhaps unrivalled. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 " Here now the human being stands adorning 
 This loveliest earth with taintless body and mind. 
 Blest from his birth with all bland impulses 
 Which gently in his noble bosom wake 
 All kindly passions and all pure desires." 
 
 Shelley. 
 
 The moon was rising with great beauty over the 
 magnificent mountains towards the north, and her 
 beams were mildly reflected by the trembling waters 
 of the lake, when Douglas, true to his appointment, 
 appeared upon the terrace of Tarbert Hill. In Dou- 
 glas there was a graceful and manly dignity; his 
 eye beamed with intelligence, and a noble ingenuous- 
 ness in his countenance at once evinced that all dis- 
 guise was foreign to his nature : but its most di- 
 stinguishing characteristic was that of sincere and 
 ardent benevolence. He wore the Highland bonnet 
 surmounted with two black feathers fastened with a 
 silver buckle ; and he still retained the ancient dress 
 of his country, over which was thrown a large tartan 
 cloak : his appearance altogether was that of a High- 
 land chieftain. As he was lookins: over the balus- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. S3 
 
 trade for the approach of Saadi, he heard the gate of 
 one of the landing-places open, and he hastened to 
 receive his friend. The person of Saadi was tall 
 and finely proportioned : in his deportment there 
 was considerable majesty tempered with mildness; 
 his complexion was a dark olive, the contour of his 
 face inclined to the Grecian ; and his eyes beamed 
 with that fixed and placid expression, which so pe- 
 culiarly distinguishes the Eastern character. His 
 dress consisted of white cloth trowsers, a blue cloak 
 trimmed with gold and hned with, white silk ; in his 
 hat he wore a brilliant diamond crescent, and the hilt 
 of his sabre was embossed with jewels and precious 
 stones. 
 
 " Pardon," exclaimed Saadi, " my delay, but I 
 could not forbear pausing to admire the sublimity 
 of this scene. Yet how much is the interest height- 
 ened by the reflection, that in that beautiful valley 
 the inhabitants are enjoying a repose in harmony 
 with the heavenly tranquillity that reigns around 
 them ; that, undisturbed by angry passions or by a 
 spirit of rivalry, they will awake in the morning 
 to the sound of music, and go forth to the enjoyment 
 of healthful and useful exercise, of intelligent and af- 
 fectionate intercourse." The sensibility of Saadi 
 was strongly excited, and he averted his head as if 
 G 2 
 
84 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 to conceal his feelings. "Is it possible," said Dou- 
 glas, "that you should wish to disguise those sym- 
 pathies which are so grateful to yourself, so pleasing 
 to others, and which it must be the general interest 
 to encourage ! " " Such sentiments," replied Saadi, 
 " in Persia are deemed fit only for romance *. Ad- 
 dress yourself on this subject to a merchant of Is- 
 pahan, he smiles at your simplicity, and passes on 
 with his richly laden caravan. Our nobles, encum- 
 bered with the pomp and ceremonies of a court, are 
 equally indifferent to the charms of nature and to 
 the moral improvement of the people. But alas ! they 
 are far from being happy. And I have frequently re- 
 marked, that while their countenances indicate care 
 and anxiety, the camel drivers, who endure more pri- 
 vations and encounter infinitely greater perils than 
 any other of their own class, are contented and even 
 cheerful." 
 
 " Let us," rejoined Douglas, " walk round the ter- 
 race; and while enjoying the fragrance of the honey- 
 
 * If the term romantic implies that which is unnatural, fic- 
 titious, or extravagant, then are the men Avho are generally 
 deemed romantic, the least deserving of the epithet. Those are 
 the romantic, who, blind to the beauties of nature and regard- 
 less of her best gifts, search for happiness in the artificial di- 
 stinctions of society, or solely in the pursuit of wealth. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 85 
 
 suckle and the clematis hanging over the balus- 
 trade, I must remind you of your promise to explain 
 why your sentiments are so much at variance Vi^ith 
 those of the Persian nobles, and so congenial, or 
 identified with ours." " Congenial, if you please," 
 replied Saadi, " but not altogether identified : for yes- 
 terday, when passing near the Athenseum, I beheld a 
 number of the community entering, and curiosity 
 prompted me to join them. A lecture by one of the 
 seniors, on the Formation of Character, was deliver- 
 ed, avowing principles to which I could never sub- 
 scribe. The motives that have induced in me a pre- 
 ference to sci^entific pursuits and to the study of 
 moral philosophy, I attribute entirely to my educa- 
 tion, which devolved upon one of the Imans who was 
 distinguished by great erudition, and by an inflex- 
 ible integrity in the fulfilment of his engagements. 
 Almured, my tutor, from his youthful days was the 
 companion and friend of my father, who was there- 
 fore, as may be expected, well acquainted with his 
 character and qualifications. At my birth, my fa- 
 ther exacted a promise from him that he would su- 
 perintend my education. He consented, after sti- 
 pulating that he should have the appointment of the 
 females who were to take charge of me during 
 infancy ; for he was accustomed to remark, that the 
 
86 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 disposition of children was in some degree influenced 
 by the temper and management of servants even 
 during the first year : it was also agreed that he 
 should select my associates, and in every way pos- 
 sess entire control over me until he finally resigned 
 his charge. The instruction I received for the first 
 six years was chiefly verbal ; my tutor taught me a 
 knowledge of things, either by bringing to my view 
 the object itself, or its exact representation''. The 
 principle upon which he conducted my education 
 was that of love : knowledge was first solicited ; 
 and the gratification of an active curiosity, accompa- 
 nied by the affectionate manner of my instructor, 
 were sufficient to stimulate further inquiry without 
 
 '' " Another principal advantage which the ancient mode of 
 the Greek education gave its pupil, was the early access to every 
 branch of philosophical learning. They did not, likens, employ 
 their youth in the acquisition of words ; they were engaged in 
 pursuits of a loftier nature, in acquiring the knowledge of things. 
 They did not, like us, spend seven or ten years of scholastic 
 labour, in making a general acquaintance with two dead lan- 
 guages ; — those years were employed in the study of nature, 
 and in gaining the elements of philosophical knowledge from 
 her original oeconomy and laws." 
 
 " Plutarch when he learned the Roman language, which was 
 not till he was somewhat advanced in life, observed that ' he 
 got the knowledge of words from his knowledge of things.' " — 
 Langhoni's Life of Plutarch. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 87 
 
 any additional excitement. The ardour with which 
 I sought information was equalled only by Almured's 
 .unwearied attention to impart it; and he watched 
 with delight the rapid progress of his pupil. As 
 I advanced in years, the warmth of our mutual af- 
 fection was increased rather than abated ; and to this 
 day, the most unreserved friendship subsists be- 
 tween us. Often at close of day would he lead me 
 to a seat under a wide-spreading palm-tree upon a 
 rising ground, to view the last rays of the setting sun : 
 and while the orb of day was disappearing through 
 clouds of amber, while the flocks were returning to 
 their folds, and nature seemed gradually sinking into 
 repose, he would exclaim, 'This is an emblem of the 
 serenity of a virtuous life. Observe the beneficence 
 of the Deity ; for in that oeconomy of nature which 
 sustains life, the necessary changes exhibit beauties 
 to delight and to refine the contemplative mind*^.' 
 
 *^ " It is on this account that it is of so much consequence in 
 the education of the young, to encourage their instinctive taste 
 for the beauty and subUmity of nature. While it opens to the 
 years of infancy or youth a source of pure and permanent en- 
 joyment, it has consequences on the character and happiness of 
 future Ufe which they are unable to foresee. It is to provide 
 them, amid all the agitations and trials of society, with one 
 gentle, unreproaching friend, whose voice is ever in alliance 
 with goodness and \artue, and which when once understood, is 
 
88 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 " However admirable the instruction adopted by 
 Almured, I have been frequently led to question 
 some of the doctrines taught me as sacred truths : 
 but so impressive was the manner in which they 
 were inculcated, that I fondly cling to many opi- 
 nions which my reason half condemns; while those 
 which I feel compelled altogether to abandon, I re- 
 linquish with the pain that is sometimes experienced 
 by the final separation from a valued friend^. More 
 from the solemn injunctions of my father, than from 
 any powerful conviction of his own, Almured evinced 
 
 able both to soothe misfortune, and to reclaim from folly. It is 
 to identify them with the happiness of that nature to which ihey 
 belong, and to give them an interest in every species of being 
 which surrounds them ; and, amid the hours of curiosity and 
 delight, to awaken those latent feelings of benevolence and of 
 sympathy, from which all the moral and intellectual greatness 
 of man finally arises." — Exsai/ on the Beauty and Sublimity of tlie 
 Material World, by Mr. Allison, p. 445. 
 
 •^ " To believe all things as our predecessors did, is the ready 
 way to keep mankind in an everlasting state of infancy, and to 
 lay an eternal bar a;,'ainst all the improvements of our reason 
 and our happiness. Had the present age of philosophers satisfied 
 themselves with the substantial forms and occult qualities of 
 Aristotle, with the solid spheres, eccentrics, and epicycles of Pto- 
 lemy, and the ancient astronomers ; then the great Lord Bacon, 
 Copernicus, and Descartes, with the greater Sir Isaac Newton, 
 Mr. Locke, and Mr. Boyle, had risen in our world in vain. 
 
 " If we ought always to believe whatsoever our parents or 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 89 
 
 peculiar solicitude to impress strongly upon my mind 
 the necessity of implicit faith in the Koran, and in 
 the divine mission of our Holy Prophet. Although 
 in the Koran there are many points difficult to 
 comprehend, yet the moral precepts in general are 
 so unerring, so truly essential to the well-being of 
 society, that, notwithstanding I have ceased to attach 
 credibility to certain portions of these writings, I 
 have never entertained any serious doubts of the 
 most important revelations. Thus has a love of lite- 
 rature and science and an attachment to our reli- 
 
 our priests or our princes believe, the inhabitants of China 
 ought to worship their own idols; and the savages of Africa 
 ought to believe all the nonsense, and practise the idolatry of 
 their negro fathers and kings. The British nation, when it was 
 heathen, could never have become Christians ; and when it was 
 a slave to Rome, it could never have been reformed." — 
 Dr. Watts. 
 
 " Yet let us ponder boldly — 't is a base 
 Abandonment of reason to resign 
 Our right of thought — our last and only place 
 Of refuge ; this, at least, shall still be mine : 
 Though from our birth the faculty divine 
 Is chain'd and tortured — cabin'd, cribb'd, confined^ 
 And bred in darkness, — lest the truth should shine 
 Too brightly on the unprepared mind. 
 The beams pour in, — for time and skill will couch the blind." 
 
 Lord Bi/ron, 
 
90 THE REV^OLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 gion been engrafted on my mind by the powerful im- 
 press of early associations and by subsequent reflec- 
 tions, equally under the influence of an able philoso- 
 pher and faithful friend. Almured has long suspected 
 that there must be something wrong in the constitu- 
 tion of Oriental society ; and his researches for many 
 years have been chiefly directed to those authors 
 who have treated of the philosophy of the human 
 mind, and of the influence of political institutions 
 in moulding the character. He is convinced that 
 there is a science of government universally appli- 
 cable, — seeing that the general qualities of human 
 nature are every where the same^. The fame of 
 your establishments had reached the court of Per- 
 sia ; and as I had expressed a desire to visit the clas- 
 sic reoions of Greece and Rome, Almured entreated 
 
 ''"La vraie morale est une : elle doit etre la meme pour tous 
 leshabitans denotre globe. Si rhomme est par-tout lenieme; 
 s'il a par-tout la meme nature, les mcmes penchants, les memes 
 desirs, en etudiantrhomnie et ses rapports constans avec les etres 
 de son espece, nous decouvrirons sans peine ses devoirs envers 
 lui-meme et envers les autres. L'homme sauvage et I'homme 
 police; l'homme blanc, rouge, noir; I'lndien, I'Europeen; le 
 Chinois, le Francois ; le Negre et le Lapon, ont une meme na- 
 ture: les differences que Ton trouve entre eux, ne sont que des 
 modifications de cette meme nature, produites par le climat, le 
 governemcnt, I'education, les opinions, et par les differentes 
 causes qui agissent sur eux. Les hommes ne different que dans 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 91 
 
 me to extend my travels to this country, and to 
 examine into the laws and customs of your commu- 
 nities. After passing some time at Rome, I pro- 
 ceeded back to Naples, where, finding a vessel on 
 the point of sailing for Greenock, I engaged a pas- 
 sage, and arrived at that port about a month since. 
 — And now, Douglas, I hope you will enlighten 
 me with some detail of the different laws of your 
 societies." 
 
 " Our laws," replied Douglas, " are few and sim- 
 ple ; indeed we have almost forgotten the term : 
 it is only where the institutions themselves generate 
 disorder, that numerous or severe laws become 
 necessary. Examine the ancient European codes. 
 
 les idees qii'ils se font du bonheur, et dans les moyens qu'ils 
 ont imagines pour I'obtenir. 
 
 " En partant de Thomme lui-merae, on trouvera facilement 
 la morale qui lui convient. Cette morale sera vraie, si Ton 
 voit I'homme tel qu'il est. Ses'devoirs seront connus, s'ils sont 
 conformes a sa nature : alors les principes de la morale se- 
 ront evidents, et formeront un systeme capable d'etre aussi ri- 
 goureusement demontre, que I'arithmetique ou la geometric. 
 
 " Elle pourra servir de regie aux nations comme aux indivi- 
 dus ; elle pourra guider la politique, etfera sentir a tous les peu- 
 ples repandus sur la terre, que leurs rapports et leurs devoirs 
 sont absolument les memes que ceux qui subsistent entre les 
 citoyens d'un meme etat, ou les membres d'une meme famille." 
 — Systam Social, vol. i. p. 38. 
 
92 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 and you will find that nine-tenths of them were 
 framed for the recognition of tlie rights of private 
 property, or for pmiishing the violaters of those 
 rights. History informs us, that long before the fall 
 of the competitive system in this country, notwith- 
 standing vast numbers of the people were occa- 
 sionally unemployed, a superfluity of food and of rai- 
 ment was produced, yet the great mass of the people 
 were struggling to obtam these necessaries, many 
 suffering great privations, and many tempted to com- 
 mit depredations to satisfy the calls of nature. The 
 interests of some individuals were opposed to those 
 of others. If, for instance, the wants and condition 
 of the people required that the price of corn should 
 be low and the quantity abundant, it was the interest 
 of the dealer that the supply should be contracted, 
 and the price high. The personal quarrels and as- 
 saults also arising out of this chaos, rendered many 
 punitive laws necessary ; to say nothing of those 
 feuds and bickerings of which the laws took no 
 cognizance, prevailing among individuals of dissi- 
 milar habits and pursuits dwelling together in the 
 same family ^ In fact, there was a perpetual jarring 
 
 ' The following is an extract of a letter from a highly 
 esteemed friend, who has proved himself a powerful and ardent 
 
THE HE VOLT OF THE BEES. 93 
 
 of interests in every direction ; and the longer the 
 duration of the system, the more difficult and com- 
 phcated jurisprudence became. Under our arrange- 
 ments, the private and pubhc interests are incorpo- 
 rated ; and as there are no unsatisfied wants, there 
 can arise no motive for individual appropriation : our 
 storehouses are furnished with two or three years 
 supply of every imperishable article requisite to the 
 community. It is the obvious interest of every in- 
 dividual that there should be an ample supply for all, 
 
 advocate of whatever tends to promote the improvement, and 
 consequently the happiness, of society. 
 
 " Can it for a moment be doubted, that tomorrow, if men 
 knew how much they could do for each other, and how eflfec- 
 tually they might promote their own interests, arrangements 
 of incalculable utility might be devised and adopted: but they 
 are so shut and barred out, by this individual system, from 
 each other's notice and knowledge, that they are unable to come 
 together, although in every street and quarter some wretch is 
 languishing for the want of that which another is casting away. 
 I speak not merely of the means of subsistence, but of every 
 thing that conduces to social happiness. In one corner you will 
 find a man teasing, annoying and disturbing his family by the 
 exuberance of qualities, for which, in some other corner, a me- 
 lancholy wight, preyed upon by the blue-devils, is sighing and 
 languishing. The incontrollable spirits of this pest of quiet in- 
 dustry would be balm and divine cordial to the languid son of 
 Ennui. But there is an impassable gulf bet^veen them .... And 
 so on, of a thousand other cases which may easily be imao-ined." 
 — Anonymous, 
 
94 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 — for who is there araono- them that is not benefited 
 by the preservation of order and contentment, even 
 if he be devoid of common sympathy? and you 
 must have observed in our mode of education, with 
 how much care that valuable quality is cultivated. 
 
 " Each individual member of a family has two pri- 
 vate rooms, and is no more compelled to be with his 
 own family, than with any other individuals of the 
 community; he is at full liberty to seek for the 
 companionship of congenial minds. Every member 
 in rotation is enabled to travel ; and if he desires to 
 reside in another part of the country, he can dispose 
 of his interest in the community in which he has 
 been educated. While the competitive state of so- 
 ciety left individuals separately to procure the ne^ 
 cessaries of life, thereby creating innumerable diffi- 
 culties and evils, — the co-operative state, by supply- 
 ing with facility under comprehensive arrangements, 
 the whole of its members with food, raiment, and 
 dwelling^, annihilates at once the cause of contention, 
 of anxieties and of misery, and bestows upon man- 
 kind abundant leisure to improve their higher facul- 
 ties, and to promote the happiness of the species." 
 " I must confess," replied Saadi, " that I have 
 been much surprised at remarking the full supply of 
 every thing essential, not only to comfortable but 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 95 
 
 even luxurious subsistence ; the beauty of your 
 walks, the fertility of your fields, gardens, and 
 parks ; the convenient and elegant accommodations 
 of every description ; and above all, the extent and 
 magnificence of your buildings, notwithstanding the 
 very temperate labour, or rather employment, of 
 the inhabitants." 
 
 " I am not," rejoined Douglas, " well acquainted 
 with the state of Persia, where competition still pre- 
 vails ; but I have paid some attention to the history 
 of that period when the present constitution of so- 
 ciety was first promulgated in this country. I have 
 seen a scale of the different ranks and professions 
 at that time, with a statement of the numbers of 
 each ; and at least one-half were either idle or un- 
 productively employed S, These were, persons of in- 
 
 s " sex horas in opere sunt; id temporis ad omnium re- 
 rum copiam, quee quidem ad vitee vel necessitatem requirantur 
 vel commoditatem non sufficiat modo, sed supersit etiam ; id 
 quod vos quoque intelligetis, si vobiscum reputetis apud alias 
 gentes quam magna populi pars iners degit. Primum mulieres 
 fere omnes totius summEe dimidium ; aut sicubi mulieres nego- 
 tioScE sunt, ibi ut plurimum earum vice viri stertunt. Ad ha>c 
 sacerdotum,ac reiigiosorum quos vocant, quanta quamque otiosa 
 turba ! Adjice divites omnes, maxime prsediorum dominos, quos 
 vulg6 generosos appellant, ac nobiles; his adnumeraipsorum fa- 
 mulitium, totani videlicet illam cetratorum nebulonum colluvi- 
 em: robustos denique ac valentes mendicos adjunge, morbum 
 
96 THE REV^OLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 dependent fortunes, officers of justice, lawyers, sol- 
 diers, shopkeepers, officers and clerks in the excise 
 and customs. There Avere also many injuriously 
 occupied ; as depredators, and other delinquents. 
 There were others who were not only unoccupied, 
 but were a burden to society ; such as the vagrants, 
 and paupers. If all these had been usefully era- 
 ployed, the produce or the means of enjoyment 
 might have been more than trebled. There was, also, 
 immense waste of time and labour from the following 
 causes. Manufacturers were interested in fabri- 
 cating their wares of frail materials, in order that the 
 
 quempiamprastexentes inertiae; miilto certe pauciores esse quam 
 putaras invenies eos quorum labore constant haec omnia quibus 
 mortales utuntiir. Expende nunc tecum ex his ipsis quam pauci 
 
 in nccessariis opificiis versantiir Nam haic ipsa multitude 
 
 quas nunc operatur, si partiretur in tam paucas artes quam 
 paucas commodus naturas usus postulat, in tanta rerum abun- 
 dantia, quantam tunc esse necesse sit, pretia nimirum viliora 
 forent quam ut artifices inde vitam tueri suam possent. At si 
 isti omnes quos nunc inertes artes distringunt, ac tota insuper 
 otio ac desidia languescens turba, quorum unus quivis earum 
 rerum qua^ aliorum laboribus suppeditantur quantum duo ea- 
 rundem operatores consumit, in opera universi atque eadem 
 utilia coUocarentur, facile animadvertis quantulum temporis ad 
 suppeditanda omnia qus vel necessitatis ratio vel commoditatis 
 efBagitet, (adde voluptatis etiam, quae quidem vera sit ac natu- 
 ralis) abunde satis superque foret." — Sir Thomas Mare. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 97 
 
 demand for them might be speedily renewed. Hence 
 three articles were required where one more durable 
 would have been sufficient. Loss of time and of la- 
 bour in the transit of articles in the process of ma- 
 nufacture, in consequence of the various operations 
 being carried on in places widely separated. Also 
 in domestic oeconomy, two hundred persons were 
 employed in preparing the meals for two hundred 
 families; — whereas now the meals for the same 
 number of families are prepared by ten individuals, 
 leaving the remaining one hundred and ninety per- 
 sons to be employed in some other occupation. 
 Buildings were erected and pulled down from mere 
 caprice, and numerous useless articles were manu- 
 factured to gratify a vacillating taste ^. Nor should 
 it be forgotten that 
 
 * Full many a flower was born to blush unseen, 
 And waste its sweetness on the desert air.' 
 
 '' " ^dificiorum aut structura aut refectio ideo tarn multo- 
 rum assiduam ubique requirit operam, quod quae pater aedifica- 
 vit, haeres pariim frugi paulatim dilabi sinit; ita quod niinimo 
 tueri potuit, successor ejus de integro impendio magno cogitur 
 instaurare: quin frequenter etiam quae domus alii ingenti 
 sumptu stetit, hanc alius delicato animo contemnit, eaque ne- 
 glecta, ideoque brevi collapsa, ^liam alibi impensis non minori- 
 bus exstruit." — Sir Thomas More. 
 
98 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Talent lay too frequently dormant and uncultivated', 
 or was found in that sphere the least favourable to 
 its active exertion. Genius, neglected genius, pined 
 in obscurity; the most valuable physical and mental 
 powers were therefore wholly lost to society." 
 
 " You have," rejoined Saadi, " without being con- 
 scious of it, drawn a faithful picture of the existing 
 state of Persia. I am no longer surprised at the 
 result of moderate employment when aided by sci- 
 entific machinery and directed by intelligent and 
 comprehensive. regulation; and I even perceive that 
 there is something analogous in the superiority of 
 your combination, to that of a small army over an 
 undisciplined multitude. Athough you could produce 
 by many degrees a greater quantity of articles than 
 
 ' " Yesterday evening the question was proposed, Why great 
 men are so rare, and only appear at intervals ? The debate on 
 it continued a long time. Chrysophilus denied the fact, and 
 maintained that Nature does not favour one age or country 
 more than another. * Would fame,' added he, ' ever have 
 celebrated a Lycurgus, if he had been born a slave.? or Homer, 
 if he had lived at a time when the language of his country was 
 not yet formed ? Who can affirm, that in our time, among 
 civilized or barbarous nations, we might not find other Homers 
 or Lycurguses employed in the discharge of the vilest functions ? 
 Nature, ever free and ever rich in her productions, scatters 
 minds endowed with genius over the earth, but circumstances 
 alone can expand and perfect their powers.'"— -jlwacAarsJs. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 99 
 
 were formerly manufactured, still you have no motives 
 to create a superfluity, or more than is really desirable : 
 having effected that object with ease and pleasure to 
 yourselves, and in a very short period, you devote the 
 remainder of your time to public embellishments, to 
 literary and philosophical pursuits, to gymnastic ex- 
 ercises, music, and other recreations. When Al- 
 mured dilates with enthusiastic delight upon the 
 adequacy of his theories to accomplish the happi- 
 ness of mankind, it is retorted by his opponents that 
 his scheme will destroy all motive to exertion ; but 
 your members, so far from being indolent, are the 
 most active and cheerful race I ever beheld : — you 
 must inform me whence they derive these energies." 
 "Most willingly," replied Douglas. "But the moon 
 appears obscured and a shower is coming on ; let us 
 seek shelter in this cottage, and while partaking 
 of some refreshment I will endeavour to answer 
 your inquiries." 
 
 H 2 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 "Whence also but from truth, the hght of minds, 
 Is human fortune gladden'd with the rays 
 Of virtue ? with the moral colours thrown 
 On every walk of this our social scene, 
 Adorning for the eye of gods and men, 
 The passions, actions, habitudes of life. 
 And rendering earth like heaven." — Akenside. 
 
 Upon the terrace were three cottages, equi-distant : 
 they were conveniently furnished ; with the addition 
 of a select library and a complete collection of in- 
 struments applicable to astronomy and natural hi- 
 story. In the principal room were sofas, chairs, and 
 a table with a handsome gas tube rising through the 
 centre. In a small room adjoining were dried fruit, 
 wine, cake, and apparatus for preparing coffee. Each 
 library was composed of books of a distinct character, 
 — botanical, geological, and works on education and 
 history : the cottages were thus furnished during the 
 summer months only. Our young Persian and his 
 friend entered that containing the library on educa- 
 tion : it was covered with ivy, and a profusion of 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES 101 
 
 wild roses was blooming in front and at the sides. 
 Douglas took from the window a small phosphorus- 
 box, and having obtained a light, applied it to the gas 
 tube. He brought from the inner room some coffee, 
 and warmed it over the gas, the strength of which 
 could be increased or diminished at pleasure. In a 
 few minutes they were seated together upon a sofa, 
 enjoying their refreshing beverage. 
 
 " I cannot," observed Saadi, " but admire the in- 
 genuity of your contrivances, and the good taste dis- 
 played in all your arrangements. Had I not already 
 spent some days with you, I should have expressed 
 apprehension that these cottages, unprotected, would 
 be stript of their valuable contents." 
 
 Douglas. — " Should I ask you to assign a reason 
 why the nobles of Persia were not addicted to theft, 
 you would naturally observe, that they could have 
 no motive to steal, being at all times superabundantly 
 supplied ; and had not this been so, their education 
 alone would restrain them. Already you have ex- 
 pressed surprise at the overflowing abundance of our 
 stores, and borne testimony to our superior mode of 
 education ; — are not the inhabitants of these com- 
 munities deprived of every motive to steal equally 
 with your nobles ?" 
 
 Saadi. — " I freely admit it. But now for the mo- 
 
102 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 tives that are deemed so difficult to sustain ; those 
 which prompt to action for the general good. How 
 do you contrive to extirpate that formidable obstacle, 
 self-interest?" 
 
 Douglas. — " So far from extirpating self-interest, 
 which would perhaps be impossible, the constitution 
 of our societies is built upon that principle. It is true 
 that mutual co-operation gives it a direction widely- 
 different from that which it receives from individual 
 competition : for under the latter, each member seeks 
 his own gratification, regardless, and generally at the 
 expense, of others. In our community, self-interest 
 prompts me to promote the health, the activity, 
 the good habits, intelligence, and happiness of all 
 my fellow citizens, — and why ? 
 
 " 1 st. The pleasures of sympathy are thereby en- 
 joyed and considerably heightened. 
 ** 2nd, The more generally the qualities I have 
 enumerated prevail, the more will order and 
 good conduct in all the departments occa- 
 sion less exertion to be required from each 
 individual. 
 " 3rd, As I feel conscious that both the body and 
 mind require exercise for the preservation of 
 health, and as my early associations and ac- 
 quired habits are connected with utihty, I 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 103 
 
 am influenced by the union of powerful mo- 
 tives to an active promotion of the general 
 welfare. 
 " 4 th, As I am desirous of amiable and intelligent 
 companions, I am deeply interested in the 
 improvement of the rising generation. 
 Parents must be doubly anxious that other children 
 should partake, equally with their own, the benefits 
 of instruction ; since they would mutually assist each 
 other, and the characters of their children mip-ht be 
 deteriorated by a colhsion with inferior minds." 
 
 Saadi. — "There is an important principle of edu- 
 cation which in Persia is deemed indispensable, but 
 I do not find it adopted in your colleges ; — I mean 
 that of emulation, or an ambition to excel others." 
 
 Douglas. — " Your remark reminds me of a manu- 
 script volume in this hbrary, in which a youth of our 
 community, about ten years since, inserted all the 
 valuable principles of education that he could find 
 in the works composed prior to the introduction of 
 the co-operative system : and it is curious to observe 
 how long each principle was recognised as true be- 
 fore it was reduced to practice. In this volume are 
 some admirable remarks by St. Pierre upon the 
 principle of emulation, which I will read to you, as 
 conveying our own opinions upon that subject. 
 
104 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 " ' Emulation, we are told, is a stimulant ; for this rea- 
 son precisely it ought to be reprobated. Men without art 
 and without artifice, leave strong spices to those whose 
 taste is weakened : present not to the children of your 
 country any aliments but such as are gentle and simple, 
 like themselves and like you. The fever must not be 
 thrown into their blood, in order to make it circulate : 
 permit it to flow in its natural course ; nature has made 
 sufficient provision to this effect at an age of such restless- 
 ness and activity. The disquietude of adolescence, the 
 passions of youth, the anxieties of manhood, will one day 
 excite an inflammation but too violent to admit of being 
 cooled by all your eftbrts. 
 
 " ' Emulation fills the whole career of life with solici- 
 tude, uneasiness, and vain desires ; and when old age has 
 slackened all our movements, it continues to stimulate us 
 by unprofitable regret. 
 
 " * Had I any occasion in infancy to surpass my compa- 
 nions in drinking, in eating, in walking, in order to find 
 pleasure in these ? Wherefore should it be necessary for 
 me to learn to outstrip them in my studies, in order to 
 acquire a relish for learning ? Have I not acquired the 
 faculty of speaking and of reasoning without emulation ? 
 Are not the functions of the soid as natural and as agree- 
 able as those of the body ? If they sadden our children, 
 it is the fault of our mode of education, and not that of 
 science. It is not from want of appetite on their part. 
 Behold what imitators they are of every thing which they 
 see done, and of every thing which they hear said ! Do 
 you wish then to attract children to your exercises ; act as 
 nature does in recommending hers ; draw them with words 
 of love. 
 
 " ' Emulation is the cause of most of the ills of human 
 life. It is the root of ambition ; for emulation produces 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. ]05 
 
 the desire of being the first; and the desire of being the 
 first is the essence of ambition, which ramifies itself, con- 
 formably to positions, from which issue almost all the mi- 
 series of society. 
 
 " ' Positive ambition generates the love of applause, of 
 personal and exclusive prerogatives for a man's self or for 
 his corps, of immense property in dignities, in lands and 
 m employments ; in a word, it produces avarice, that calm 
 ambition of gold, in which all the ambitious finish their 
 course. But avarice alone drags in its train an infinite 
 number of evils, by depriving multitudes of other citizens 
 of the means of subsistence, and produces, by a necessary 
 re-action, robberies, prostitutions, quackery, superstition. 
 
 " * Negative ambition generates in its turn jealousy, evil- 
 speaking, calumnies, quarrels, litigation, duels, intole- 
 rance. Of all these particular ambitions a national ambi- 
 tion is composed, which manifests itself in a people by the 
 love of conquest, and in their prince by the love of despo- 
 tism; from national ambition flow imposts, slavery, tyran- 
 nies and war, a sufficient scourge of itself for the human 
 race. 
 
 " ' I was long under the conviction that ambition must 
 be natural to man ; but now I consider it as a simple re- 
 sult from our education. We are involved so early in the 
 prejudices of so many whose interest is concerned to com- 
 municate them to us, that it becomes extremely difficult 
 to distinguish through the rest of life what is natural to 
 us and what artificial. In order to form a judo-ement of 
 the institutions of our societies we must withdraw to a 
 distance from them.' " — St. Pierre. 
 
 " Although we concur generally in these opinions, 
 yet there are some few expressions with which we 
 
106 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 do not accord. The works of St. Pierre were first 
 published in the seventeen-hundred-and-ninetieth 
 year of the Christian sera; but it was not until forty 
 years afterwards, when infant schools were first esta- 
 blished in this country, that any plan of education 
 was generally adopted in which emulation was ex- 
 cluded. — Here is also an extract from the work of 
 an author who was distinguished, both as a senator 
 and as a Christian, for the faithful performance of his 
 duties, to which he made many personal sacrifices, 
 and his opinions were therefore always listened to 
 with respect. 
 
 " 'The desire of human estimation, and distinction, and 
 honour, of the admiration and applause of our fellow crea- 
 tures, if we take it in its full comprehension, and in all its 
 various modifications, from the thirst of glory to the dread 
 of shame, is the passion of which the empire is by far the 
 most general, and perhaps the authority the most com- 
 manding. Though its power be most conspicuous and 
 least controllable in the higher classes of society, it seems, 
 like some resistless conqueror, to spare neither age, nor 
 sex, nor condition ; and taking ten thousand shapes, insi- 
 nuating itself under the most specious pretexts, and shel- 
 tering itself when necessary under the most artful dis- 
 guises, it winds its way in secret, when it dares not openly 
 avow itself, and mixes in all we think, and speak, and do. 
 It is in some instances the determined and declared pur- 
 suit, and confessedly the main practical principle; but 
 where this is not the case, it is not seldom the grand spring 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 107 
 
 of action, and in the Beauty, and the Author, no less than 
 n the Soldier, it is often the master passion of the soul. 
 
 " * This is the principle which parents recognize with joy 
 in their infant oifspring, which is diligently instilled and 
 nurtured in advancing years, which under the names of 
 honourable ambition, and of laudable emulation, it is the 
 professed aim of schools and colleges to excite and cherish.' " 
 -^Wilberforces Practical View of Christianity. 
 
 Saadi,' — " If the desire of fame is to be expelled 
 from the human breast, — if the spirit-stirring impulse 
 of emulation is no longer to prompt to noble enter- 
 prise, — we must cease to recur with enthusiastic 
 admiration to the heroic ages. Farewell to the de- 
 lights experienced when, travelling through Greece, 
 I wandered along the classic borders of theIlissus,or 
 viewed the magnificent ruins of Athenian greatness. 
 But you must not, Douglas, deprive me of these de- 
 lightful associations : surely you cannot avoid sym- 
 pathizing in the raptures of one of the sublimest of 
 your poets, who, when traversing the eternal city, ex- 
 claimed, ' Rome, thy very weeds are beautiful ! ' 
 What have you to offer in exchange for those exquisite 
 feelings inspired by the sight of objects sacred to 
 patriotic bravery and to exalted virtue * ? " 
 
 * The general outline of the principles of legislation adopted 
 by Lycurgus is very happily drawn in the following passage 
 from Anacharsis, 
 
 " Nature is almost always in opposition to the laws ; because 
 
108 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Douglas. — " Think not, my friend, that we hold in 
 lioht e^jitimation those noble instances of devotedness 
 to the public good, recorded in the history of the 
 Grecian and Roman states : on the contrary, we look 
 back to them with exultation, as exhibiting the most 
 triumphant proofs of the all-powerful influence of 
 education, and of national institutions, in moulding 
 the human mind to any predetermined character ; to 
 characters preferring torture and even death itself, to 
 a life of ease or of luxury, when unattended with the 
 esteem of their fellow-citizens. But while we admire 
 the magnanimity of Leonidas and his brave associates, 
 let us not be unmindful of the genius of the lawgiver 
 whose wisdom produced a nation of heroes. No 
 
 legislator either of ancient or modern times under- 
 
 o 
 
 she labours for the happiness of the individual, without regard 
 to the other individuals who surround him : while the laws only 
 direct their attention to the relations by which he is united to 
 them ; and because she infinitely diversifies our character and 
 inclinations, while it is the object of the laws to bring them 
 back to unity. The legislator, therefore, whose aim it is to 
 annihilate, or at least to reconcile these contrarieties, must con- 
 sider morals as the most powerful spring, and most essential 
 part, of his political institutions. He must take the work of 
 nature almost at the first moment she has produced it, retouch 
 its form and proportions, and soften without entirely effacing 
 its great outlines ; till at length he has converted the indepen- 
 dent man into the free citizen." 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 109 
 
 stood better than Lycurgus the principle upon which 
 the human character was formed : but we must di- 
 stinguish between this principle and the character 
 formed. However well adapted the Spartan cha- 
 racter was to the circumstances of that isolated state, 
 surrounded by hostile nations, it is far from being 
 worthy of imitation in the present period, enlightened 
 as it is by the accumulated wisdom of succeeding 
 ages. Nevertheless, those means employed with such 
 extraordinary success by Lycurgus in generating the 
 martial character, we have applied with equal success, 
 and with the certainty of more lasting effect, in pro- 
 ducing the intelligent and benevolent. Those means 
 are comprehended in the following principles : 
 
 " 1st, An unremitting attention to the early asso- 
 ciation of ideas. 
 
 " 2nd, The formation of good habits. 
 
 "3rd, In all our regulations preserving a confor- 
 mity between the duties of individuals and 
 their most pleasurable and early imbibed 
 ideas, — thus uniting the agreeable with the 
 useful." 
 
 Saadi. — " There is much truth in your remarks ; 
 but I cannot as yet surrender at discretion. You, who 
 so well understand the tenacity of early associations. 
 
no THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 must allow me to extricate myself by degrees from 
 the fascinations of ancient lore ^. " 
 
 Douglas. — " We will then defer any further dis- 
 cussion on this interesting subject for the present : 
 but before we quit this cottage I would invite your 
 attention to a most curious relic of the darker ages 
 deposited in the library, and entitled f Report from 
 the Select Committee on the Employment of the 
 Poor in Ireland.' " 
 
 '' " There are few men to be found, among those who have re- 
 ceived the advantages of a Uberal education, who do not retain, 
 through Ufe, that admiration of the heroic ages of Greece and 
 Rome, with which the classical authors once inspired them. It 
 is, in truth, a fortunate prepossession on the whole, and one, of 
 which I should be sorry to counteract the influence. But are 
 there not others of equal importance to morality and to hap- 
 piness, with which the mind might at the same period of life 
 be inspired ? If the first conceptions, for example, which an 
 infant formed of the Deity, and its first moral perceptions, were 
 associated with the early impressions produced on the heart by 
 the beauties of nature, or by the charms of poetical description, 
 those serious thoughts which are resorted to by most men, 
 merely as a source of consolation in adversity ; and which on 
 that very account are frequently tinctured with some degree of 
 gloom, would recur spontaneously to the mind in its best and 
 happiest hours ; and would insensibly blend themselves with all 
 its purest and most refined enjoyments." — Stewards Phil, of' 
 Mind. vol. i. p. 41 . 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 " Train up thy children, England, 
 In the ways of righteousness, — and feed them 
 
 With the bread of wholesome doctrine. 
 Where hast thou thy mines — but in their industry ? 
 Thy bulwarks where — but in their breasts ? thy might — 
 
 But in their arms ? 
 Shall not their Numbers % therefore, be thy Wealth, 
 Thy Strength, — thy Power, — thy Safety,— and thy Pride? 
 
 O grief then — grief and shame. 
 If in this flourishing land there should be dwellings, 
 Where the new-born babe doth bring unto its parent's soul 
 
 No joy ! where squalid Poverty receives it at the birth, 
 
 And, on her wither'd knees. 
 Gives it the scanty bread of discontent." — Southey. 
 
 Douglas took from the library a folio volume, 
 observing, that " a committee of examination had 
 been appointed in consequence of a dreadful famine 
 in Ireland'*, which had destroyed many thousands of 
 
 ^ "When the parent was unable to maintain his child, the state 
 took the charge upon itself, and the infant was educated at the 
 expense of the public : and this law Constantine directed to be 
 engraved on marble, that he might perpetuate it through all 
 successive ages." — Belisarius. 
 
 '' The miseries of Ireland are not merely of a modern date : 
 as far back as the year 1729, Dean Swift, in one of his ironical 
 
112 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 its inhabitants. A few of the particulars are related in 
 some letters addressed to persons in England, from 
 eye-witnesses of the scene : and one, still preserved, 
 from the Archbishop of Tuam, after giving a state- 
 ment of the hideous scenes he had witnessed, adds, 
 * If thousands (of pounds) are not sent to Mayo and 
 Galway, whole populations must die. On my way to 
 Castlebar I passed a multitude of half-starved men, 
 women and children, seeking a share of a handful 
 of meal, which could only keep them alive and no 
 more.' But here are extracts from some of the Irish 
 letters put by with the volume." 
 
 projects for relieving society of the burden of the poor, intro- 
 duces the following remarks: " Some persons of a desponding 
 spirit are in great concern about that vast number of poor peo- 
 ple, who are aged, diseased, or maimed : and I have been de- 
 sired to employ my thoughts what course may be taken, to ease 
 the nation of so grievous an incumbrance. But I am not in 
 the least pain, upon that matter ; because it is very well known, 
 that they are every day dying, and rotting, by cold and famine, 
 and filth and vermin, as fast as can be reasonably expected. 
 And, as to the younger labourers, they are now in almost as 
 hopeful a condition ! they cannot get work, and consequently 
 pine away for want of nourishment, to a degree, that if at any 
 time they are accidentally hired to common labour, they have 
 not strength to perform it; and thus the country, and them- 
 selves, are in a fair way of being soon delivered from the evils 
 to come." See A modest Proposal, by Dean Swift. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 1 13 
 
 From Bantry.— Tn a population of 16,250 there are 
 7,000 totally dependent on a fund of 553/. This is a fearful 
 number of famishing paupers. It being impossible to 
 mmister to the wants of all, scenes of the most agonizing 
 distress are every day taking place. 
 
 " ' The pride of the people adds to the calamity. One wo- 
 man, ashamed to make her case known, died with her three 
 children of actual starvation. Many are seen to faint 
 through exhaustion during the necessary delay that occurs 
 in administering food ; and it is the opinion of many that, 
 were it not for the benevolent aid of the British public, the' 
 local subscriptions would be hardly sufficient to purchase 
 coffins for those who would die of mere want. The Typhus 
 Fever and Dysentery are also prevailing rapidly. 
 
 " ' From Rathkeale.-Of 1382 persons, 883 were destitute 
 of any means of providing food. Many for a long time 
 had but one meal, some had been eating remnants of 
 seed potatoes left in the ground since last year ; many had 
 not a morsel to eat. 
 
 From Roscommon.— The sum of 50/. remitted for the 
 rehef of the two parishes of D. and K. is very nearly ex- 
 pended. In a few days nearly 3000 inhabitants will again 
 be reduced to a state of starvation. 
 
 " ' From Clifden.— As to the employment of the poor, a 
 few days more will unfit them for any work. One poor mln 
 was employed last week on the roads, was at work on 
 Saturday evening, got up on Monday to work, said he 
 felt languid and sleepy, and lay down again on the ground 
 and died. Four died in Boffin: and if swelled hml^s, pale 
 looks, sunken cheeks, and hollow eyes are the harbingers of 
 death, the work of death will soon be very rapid here.' 
 
 " There are also extracts of letters from Cork, 
 
1 14 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Tarbut, Killarney, Listowel, and several other places, 
 — all of a similar tenour." 
 
 Saadi. — " If I recollect that portion of the English 
 history correctly, you were at the very period in ques- 
 tion sending immense quantities of your manufac- 
 tures to Persia, and to the more eastern nations. As 
 there was a scarcity of food, could you not have ob- 
 tained a supply from other countries in exchange for 
 manufactured articles ? " 
 
 Douglas. — " So far from there being any scarcity, 
 the report of the committee states : 
 
 " ' The nature of the late distress in Ireland was peculiar. 
 In the districts to which your Committee have already 
 adverted, the potatoe crop, which furnishes the general 
 food of the peasantry, had failed ; but there was no want 
 of food of another description for the support of human 
 life. On the contrary, the crops of grain had been far from 
 deficient, and the prices of corn and oatmeal were very 
 moderate. The export of grain from ports within the 
 distressed districts of Ireland was considerable, during the 
 entire period from May to August, infinitely exceeding the 
 imports during that period ; and those districts in the south 
 and west presented the remarkable example of possessing 
 a surplus of food, whilst the inhabitants were suffering 
 from actual want.'" 
 
 Saadi. — " It seems unaccountable that they could 
 not discover a remedy for such an extraordinary 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 115 
 
 state of their affairs : Of whom was the committee 
 composed ? " 
 
 Douglas. — " It was formed of individuals who it 
 was presumed were the most competent to investi- 
 gate the subject, and the most interested in applying 
 effectual relief. The Commons House of Parlia- 
 ment was composed of delegates elected by the 
 people, to protect their rights and liberties in the 
 enactment of laws, and to redress their grievances. 
 These representatives were chosen, as best qualified 
 by their ability and love of justice to discharge faith- 
 fully the trust reposed in them. The committee was 
 selected out of this body, and consisted of those most 
 distinguished by their zeal and talent*^. One of the 
 
 " "It is very remarkable, that the term sapientes, as may be 
 seen in Du Cange, in his explanation of it, expressed, in Italy, 
 in ancient times, those who governed the affairs of cities and 
 communities. When men, therefore, of this sort are uniformly 
 mentioned as a part of the Anglo-Saxon Wittcnagemots, it is 
 impossible, but to prejudice, not to see, that they must have acted 
 as the representatives of the people, and must have procured 
 this distinction from the opinion entertained of their wisdom or 
 experience. 
 
 " By a curious testimony, it is even obvious that the word 
 sapientes must have meant the Commons." — -Stuarfs View of 
 Society, p. 273. 
 
 These committees being composed of the wisest of the wise, 
 had they been formed in the times of the Anglo-Saxons, might 
 have been denominated sapientissimi. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 remedies proposed for their consideration, was the 
 adoption in Ireland of Communities of Mutual As- 
 sistance ; and this document is rendered highly cu- 
 rious to us, as affording a proof of the incompetency 
 of the most able minds, formed upon the old system, 
 to decide upon the practicability of principles the 
 most simple and obvious. — I will read an extract or 
 two. 
 
 " 'Among the various suggestions which have been laid 
 before your Committee, one from Mr. Robert Owen, of 
 Lanark, has attracted so much of public attention as to re- 
 quire particular notice. It has been so much canvassed in 
 public, and has excited so much interest in Ireland, that 
 your Committee have felt it their duty to inquire minutely 
 into its details, and consider the tendency of the principles 
 on which it is founded. During the last year, Mr. Owen 
 visited a very considerable part of Ireland; and at various 
 places explained his plan, both by publication and at meet- 
 ings of the most respectable description ; and during the 
 present session, a petition signed by many individuals of 
 rank and consideration has been presented to Parliament, 
 praying that an experiment might be tried, on an enlarged 
 scale, to ascertain how far the suggestions of Mr. Owen 
 were applicable to the condition of the Irish people. The 
 public spirit and benevolence of that gentleman, in thus 
 devoting his time and intelligence to the amelioration of 
 the people in a country with which he had no personal 
 connection, is deserving of every praise ; but his plan must 
 be discussed with a view to the necessary consequences re- 
 sulting from its adoption, and not from any consideration 
 of his motives in laying it before the public. The princi- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 117 
 
 pies of the plan are so well known, that it is unnecessary 
 to do more than to refer to them in general terms ; the de- 
 tails will be found in the evidence subjoined to this Report. 
 But when it is considered, that Mr. Owen's plan is founded 
 upon a principle that a state of perfect equality can be pro- 
 duced, and can lead to beneficial consequences, your Com- 
 mittee consider this position so irreconcileable with the 
 nature and interests of mankind, and the experience of all 
 ages, that it is impossible to treat this scheme as being 
 practicable. Your Committee concur in the opinion " that 
 a state in which an inequality of conditions offers the 
 natural rewards of good conduct, and inspires widely and 
 generally the hopes of rising and the fear of falling in 
 society, is unquestionably the best calculated to develope the 
 energies and faculties of man, and is the best suited to the 
 exercise and improvement of human virtue. If Mr. Owen's 
 establishments coidd be conducted according to his inten- 
 tions, the idle and profligate would be placed in a situation 
 equal to that which would be a reward to the industrious 
 and virtuous ''." True it is, that Mr. Owen suggests, that 
 under his new arrangements idleness and profligacy might 
 
 •■ We were for some time at a loss to discover from whence this 
 notable passage was extracted, uniil it was detected in the criti- 
 cisms of Mr. Mai thus upon the " New Views of Society" by Mr. 
 Owen. Truly the committee have placed themselves under a 
 very skilful leader^ but who will not, we fear, very speedily extri- 
 cate them from their labyrinth, — if peradventure he does not pro- 
 duce " confusion worse confounded." What have they accom- 
 plished under their guide ? — absolutely nothing. The committee, 
 in their anxiety to find passages favourable to their preconceived 
 opinions, have overlooked the following just remark : " Mr. 
 Owen is, I believe, a man of real benevolence, who has done 
 much good. He is further entitled to great attention on all 
 
118 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 be altogether extirpated from society; but such an opinion 
 is one which appears altogether visionary. Certainly your 
 Committee feel every disposition highly to estimate the 
 effects of good education and early moral habits ; but to 
 conceive that any " arrangement of circumstances" can 
 altogether divest man of his passions and frailties'^, as they 
 comprehend principles in themselves undeniable, is a re- 
 sult which can never be anticipated.' 
 
 " This committee appears to have been hindered 
 by their prejudices from giving the subject due con- 
 sideration. And yet, after the failure of all other 
 
 subjects relating to education, from the experience and know- 
 ledge which he must have gained in an intercourse of many 
 years with two thousand manufacturers, and from the success 
 which is said to have resulted from his modes of management. 
 A theory professed to be founded on such experience is no doubt 
 worthy of much more consideration than one formed in a clo- 
 set." Malthus, vol. ii. p. 274. 5th edition. Yet this is the indivi- 
 dual whom the committee refuse to listen to in preference to 
 the Professor of Political Economy at Hertford. Alas for poor 
 Ireland ! to be under the control of men, who reject the sug- 
 gestions derived from a long life of practical experience, for " the 
 theory formed in a closet." 
 
 ^ If the passions of men are to be extirpated before idleness 
 and profligacy shall cease, what are to become of the promises 
 of the Gospel, which every where addresses itself to man, as a 
 being impelled by passions, and furnishes the most salutary and 
 sublime precepts for their government. Let us hope that the 
 new Parliament will send forth a more Christian-like committee, 
 and one that will not insinuate that religion enjoins impossi- 
 bilities. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 1 19 
 
 remedies, from a host of reformers, pamphleteers and 
 pohtical ceconomists ; and considering the magni- 
 tude and afflicting nature of the evil, — it is very ex- 
 traordinary that they should not have acquainted 
 themselves with the true character of the system 
 upon which they were deliberating. ' The experi- 
 ence of past ages' ought to have instructed the com- 
 mittee that nothing could be more * irreconcileable 
 with the interests of man,' or more degrading to his 
 ' nature' than war and bloodshed and the clashing 
 of interests. Yet these had ever proved the bitter 
 fruits of their favourite system ; while a diminution 
 of crime and misery had invariably accompanied a 
 more equitable distribution of property : and in the 
 few recorded instances of communities of joint pro- 
 perty, — order, morality, industry and happiness, had 
 prevailed in a remarkable degree. AVas the futile 
 attempt to ' divest man of his passions' in contem- 
 plation, because he was to be so trained as to pre- 
 fer their moderate indulgence, and thereby avoid 
 ' frailties and profligacy ^? ' The idea was neither 
 
 ^ The Dunkers, a society of joint property in Pennsylvania, 
 are thus described. — " Harmony and mutual affection reigns 
 surprisingly among them ; every person is industrious, and con- 
 tented with the task assigned him. They are remarkably hos- 
 pitable to strangers. If a traveller asks them any thing, they 
 will cheerfully give it him ; and if it happens to be late in the 
 
120 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 expressed nor implied, either in the principles or de- 
 tails of the scheme ; and yet the committee state that 
 ' they had felt it their duty to consider the tendency 
 of the former, and to inquire minutely into the lat- 
 ter.' Neither were they authorized in asserting that 
 * the plan was founded upon a principle that a state 
 of perfect equality can be produced.' All that was 
 proposed, secured to each individual sufficient food, 
 clothing, shelter, and education, to satisfy the wants 
 of a rational being. It did not preclude any from 
 having more of these things if they desired them, or 
 prevent their devoting a portion of their time in pro- 
 curing extra quantities, or in the pursuit of any other 
 objects. The plan did not aim at reducing the higher 
 classes, although it was calculated to raise the de- 
 pressed and destitute to a state of comfort and en- 
 joyment. This, however, would not suit the committee ; 
 for they must have a constitution of society where 
 individuals were to be elated with the hopes of rising, 
 
 evening, will ask him to stay all night, but refuse to accept of 
 any recompense."— The following is copied from a Salem 
 Gazette, July 1 3, 18'24 : " Shaker Societies. — This singular 
 people arc rapidly increasing in the United States. They have 
 already sixteen different societies. The first society was esta- 
 blished at New Lebanon in this state, about two miles from 
 Lebanon Springs, now one of the most fashionable resorts for 
 pleasure in our country. " 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 121 
 
 or alarmed by the fears of falling. Hence it became 
 necessary to retain some portion of mankind in bond- 
 age and misery, in order to exhibit to others the evils 
 they were to avoid ; or to display in the follies and 
 extravagancies of the rich, — the mighty good to 
 which they were to aspire." 
 
 Saadi. — " I apprehend that none of the committee 
 belonged to that portion of society who were in a 
 state of destitution ; or who, to use their own expres- 
 sions, were in ' fear of falling;? ' " 
 
 Douglas. — " Not one : for it appears that men of 
 affluence only were elected as delegates of the people. 
 But from the vicissitudes that prevailed, often were 
 the wealthy suddenly reduced to want ; and there 
 were few among them who had not some connexions 
 in distress, or whose children were not embarking 
 upon mercantile or other enterprises of doubtful suc- 
 cess ; — yet even these considerations failed to weaken 
 their prejudices in favour of established opinions 
 however erroneous^." 
 
 Saadi. — " Still I cannot but feel surprised that as 
 
 ^ " It were enough to make them wise, if they would but 
 consider the mutability of this world, and how it wheels about, 
 nothing being firm and sure. He that is now above, to-morrow 
 is beneath ; he that sate on this side to-day, to-morrow is hurled 
 on the other : and not considering these matters, they fall into 
 
122 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the committee express so favourable an opinion of the 
 benevolence, talent, and practical experience of the 
 projector, they should not have desired a single ex- 
 periment, which must have been highly interesting to 
 the scholar and to the man of science, no less than to 
 the moralist and to the senator. Such an experiment 
 could not have disturbed any of the existing inter- 
 ests of society : — indeed, by removing two thousand 
 destitute individuals to some isolated spot in Ireland, 
 general society would have been relieved from a bur- 
 den, and perhaps from some depredation, while the 
 little colony itself could not fail to be benefited, un- 
 less employment, wholesome food, and good educa- 
 tion are more destructive to health and morals, than 
 idleness, want, and ignorance. — But I presume the 
 funds of the country were at a very low ebb*"?" 
 
 many inconveniences and troubles, coveting things of no profit, 
 and thirsting after them, tumbling headlong into many calami- 
 ties." — Bu?-toti's Anatomy. 
 
 ^ Who that has contemplated the endless benefits that will 
 flow from the establishment of these communities, and perceives 
 that capital is all that is required to give the first impetus, will 
 not exclaim in the language of the Poet, 
 
 " Oh is there not some patriot, in whose power 
 That best, that godlike luxury is placed, 
 Of blessing thousands, thousands yet unborn, 
 Thro' late posterity ? some large of soul, 
 To cheer dejected industry?" — Thomson. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 123 
 
 Douglas. — " Their funds were not so exhausted as 
 to prevent their fitting out expensive expeditions to 
 explore the wilds of Africa, and to trace out a north- 
 west passage in the Arctic regions." 
 
 Saadi. — " But what did the committee mean by 
 ' an inequality of conditions being the best suited to 
 the exercise and improvement of human virtue? ' " 
 
 Douglas. — " Suppose that the cloak I now wear 
 had formed an essential part of their dress, and that 
 although society had the power of making several 
 cloaks for each, one only was produced for every in- 
 dividual ; but instead of giving to each member of 
 the community his cloak, the whole were thrown to- 
 gether and a scramble ensued, some carrying away 
 many, and others left totally destitute ; — you smile at 
 the absurdity of the case, nevertheless it is quite ana- 
 logous to all their proceedings. Those who were de- 
 stitute, had an opportunity of exercising the virtue of 
 patience ; while those who had many cloaks could ex- 
 ercise the virtue of charity, in giving their superfluous 
 cloaks to such as had been less fortunate or active 
 in the scramble." 
 
 Saadi. — " But according to the elucidations with 
 which you have this night favoured me, the want of 
 a just and equitable distribution of the cloaks would 
 have given rise to theft and duplicity on the one hand, 
 
124 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 and to indolence, oppression, and arrogance on the 
 other. It is singular that the penetration of the 
 committee should have enabled them to detect the 
 source of virtue in their institutions, without tracing 
 vice also to the same origin ; — that inequality of 
 conditions, of which they were so much enamoured, 
 was no less calculated for the exercise of human vice 
 than of human virtue. This attachment of the com- 
 mittee to their ancient policy, but more particularly 
 the motives assigned for their preference, brings to 
 my recollection an event in the history of Almured's 
 early life. 
 
 " About thirty years since, one of the provinces on 
 the northern frontier of Persia had been much dis- 
 turbed by the irruption of the Tartars : the peace- 
 ful inhabitants of the villages were frequently plun- 
 dered of their property; their flocks driven away, 
 and sometimes their whole year's store of corn carried 
 off. Almured, at the age of thirty, was appointed 
 governor of this province, and at a period when the 
 ravages were at their height. There was great dif- 
 ficulty in checking the incursions of these wandering 
 tribes : for such was the celerity of their movements, 
 that no sooner was it known that they had made their 
 appearance in one place, than they had committed 
 their depredations and were gone. After many fruit- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 125 
 
 less attempts to exterminate the marauders, Almured 
 conceived the idea of inducing them to alter their 
 mode of life. He dispatched messengers to a number 
 of their chiefs, inviting them to a conference in the 
 neighbourhood of Kaboosham, where he had a small 
 detachment encamped. So renowned was Almured 
 for his unsullied honour, that there was no hesitation 
 with the Tartars in obeying the summons. Desirous 
 of impressing his visitors with a high opinion of the 
 wealth and power of Persia, as the consequence of 
 order and mild government, Almured made prepara- 
 tions to receive the chiefs with extraordinary military- 
 pomp. 
 
 " He ordered a spacious tent of the most rich and 
 costly materials to be erected : the interior was lined 
 with crimson, with festoons and tassels elegantly dis- 
 posed, and the exterior was surmounted with a golden 
 diadem. A sumptuous banquet was served up, in 
 which there was a gorgeous display of gold dishes 
 and vessels, and the dresses of the attendants were 
 truly magnificent. In short, nothing was omitted 
 that could contribute to the splendour of the scene. 
 During the banquet a numerous band played several 
 martial airs. At the conclusion of the entertain- 
 ment, Almured informed them that he had invited 
 them to a conference, not for the purpose of cen- 
 
126 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 suring their mode of life, because he was convinced 
 they had been inured to it from their earhest 
 years ; but he exhorted them to consider the supe- 
 rior and more certain advantages of agricultural oc- 
 cupation, both for themselves and for their children. 
 He concluded by offering them large tracts of land ; 
 and he presented to the principal Tartar chief a beau- 
 tiful model of a plough carved in cedar-wood and 
 silver, and the handle studded with pearls. They 
 listened to his address like men who anticipated the 
 nature of his proposals but had resolved to decline 
 them. The chief to whom the plough had been pre- 
 sented, replied, that highly as they respected the be- 
 nevolent views and character of Almured, they were 
 still convinced, by * the experience of past ages,' 
 that their mode of life, though attended with some 
 casualties, was best calculated to inspire vigilance, 
 promptitude, and courage ; and that in the quiet but 
 ignoble pursuit of agriculture, those qualities would 
 die away : for these reasons they thought that their 
 predatoiy excursions . . ." 
 
 Douglas. — " Were best suited to the exercise and 
 improvement of human virtue." 
 
 Saadi.- — " Their reply was certainly to that effect : 
 and they might with great propriety have taken their 
 seats among your committee, for their arguments 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 127 
 
 were equally cogent. In vain did Almured urge that 
 those enterprising quahties which they so highly es- 
 teemed could find in the chase an adequate excite- 
 ment without the infliction of misery upon their fel- 
 low-creatures. The assembly broke up : and the 
 Tartarchiefs, after cordially thanking Almured for his 
 noble entertainment, departed in good humour ; but 
 they soon returned to their former depredations. Al- 
 mured, however, was delighted to find that his hu- 
 mane endeavours were not altogether thrown away : for 
 although not one of the chiefs ' embraced his offer, yet 
 
 • Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, in his second discourse on the 
 Affairs of Scotland, offers a good reason for Mr. Owen's applica- 
 tion to the Government, before a direct appeal was made to the 
 people. " And indeed 'tis next to an impossibility to alter a 
 general bad custom in any nation, without a general regulation, 
 because of inveterate bad dispositions and discouragements, 
 with which the first beginnings of reformations are always at- 
 tended. Besides, alterations that are not countenanced by the 
 public authority, proceed slowly." We cannot forbear quoting 
 another passage from the same excellent discourse : " And what 
 man is there in this nation, if he have any compassion, who 
 must not grudge himself every nice bit and every delicate mor- 
 sel he puts in his mouth, when he considers that so many are 
 already dead, and so many at that minute struggling with death, 
 not for want of bread but of grains, which I am credibly in- 
 formed have been eaten by some families, even during the pre- 
 ceding years of scarcity. And must not every unnecessary 
 branch of our expense, or the least finery in our houses, clothes, 
 or equipage, reproach us with our barbarity, so long as people 
 
128 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 many of the subordinate Tartars, who by accident had 
 heard of the overtures, apphed for land, and aban- 
 doned for ever their wandering mode of Hfe. 
 
 " Now if the rain is subsided, shall we again walk 
 forth ? I have no desire to hear more of this precious 
 relic, unless you can relate in what manner the Re- 
 port was received by the general Assembly of the 
 Delegates." 
 
 Doucrias. — " We have no certain information re- 
 
 o 
 
 lative to the measures adopted by the House of Com- 
 mons ; but there is a manuscript at the end of the 
 volume contdiiilng a narrative of proceedings. This 
 account, however, is so much at variance with the 
 usual forms of their Parliaments, and so much in 
 accordance with the principles of universal justice, 
 that considerable doubts are entertained of its authen.' 
 ticity. It is brief, and I think you may desire to 
 hear it. 
 
 " The Speaker having examined the Report, and 
 discovering the false character that was attributed to 
 the proposed scheme of mutual support, was so much 
 incensed at the unfeeling negligence of the com- 
 mittee, that he ordered the serjeant-at-arms to sum- 
 born with natural endowments, perhaps not inferior to our own, 
 and fellow citizens, perish for want of things absolutely neces- 
 sary to life ! " 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 129 
 
 mon the members to the bar of the House. He then 
 addressed them as follows : 
 
 " ' In the exercise of those functions 
 
 which belong to my office, it sometimes becomes my 
 painful duty to express the displeasure of this House 
 upon the violation of its ancient and prescriptive rights ; 
 but how much more distressing to my feelings must 
 be the present occasion, when it devolves upon me to 
 arraign the conduct of so many of our most distin- 
 guished senators, for gross dereliction of their public 
 duty. At a period of profound peace and of unex- 
 ampled commercial prosperity, multitudes of the peo- 
 ple have been reduced to the greatest misery, and 
 thousands have been consigned by famine to an un- 
 timely grave. You, their elected guardians, have 
 been called upon to account for this strange ano- 
 maly, and to provide an adequate remedy. You have 
 not only failed to give any satisfactory explanation 
 of the cause, or to suggest means for preventing the 
 calamity in future ; but, unmoved by the supplicating 
 eloquence of your perishing countrymen, you have 
 dared prematurely to reject a scheme of policy cal- 
 culated to diffuse the blessings of abundance through- 
 out the land, and to gladden the hearts of the poorest 
 cottagers in the empire. — There are those among 
 
 K 
 
130 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 you who are laudably anxious for the abolition of 
 slavery ; and of such I would ask — what is the sla- 
 very of the negro compared with that of the Irish 
 peasant? The negro's master is interested in the 
 preservation of his health ; and, if prudential conside- 
 rations or the sentiments of humanity should even fail 
 to influence him, he is compelled by the laws of your 
 colonies to provide an ample allowance of food and 
 clothing, and a comfortable habitation to shelter 
 his slave from the inclemencies of the seasons : — and 
 to this he is bound, whether the produce of his 
 estate will repay him or not. I may also add, that 
 many of the negroes are in possession of independent 
 property. Now mark the melancholy contrast of 
 the poor peasant of Ireland. No sooner does the faint 
 light of reason dawn upon his almost benighted mind, 
 and he looks around for the means of supplying his 
 simple wants, than he is told that the land upon 
 which he is born belongs to some lord, for whom he 
 is to toil. He cultivates the earth, and the corn 
 waves luxuriantly over the fields ; he gathers in the 
 harvest, — but it is swept away by a stranger. In the 
 mean time the peasant is allowed a small piece of 
 ground, upon which for the subsistence of himself 
 and family, he grows a few potatoes ; but if the crop 
 fail, they starve : for no helping hand is held out to 
 
THli: REVOLT OF THE BEES. 131 
 
 their succour, either by the representatives of the 
 people or by the lords of the soil. — But then the Irish 
 peasant is free. Yes, — he is free to submit to his 
 master's terms or to die. 
 
 " * You dispatch missionaries of various sects to 
 brave the dangers of every quarter of the globe, in 
 propagating the doctrines of our holy religion. What 
 reply can be given to those vs^ho ask for some evi- 
 dence of your good works at home ? They hear of fa- 
 mine and death in a Christian country saturated with 
 wealth : — will they not remind you that of Faith, 
 Hope, and Charity, the greatest of these is Charity ; 
 yet so far from having displayed the spirit of either, 
 — Charity you have renounced, in giving to the 
 members of your own community a stone instead of 
 bread ; Hope you have converted into Despair ; and 
 Faith has been shaken to its very foundation by the 
 discordance and multiplicity of your creeds? 
 
 " ' But in what estimation will the character of the 
 country be held, by the governors and monarchs of 
 distant nations '' ? Will they not think that you have 
 neither humanity nor vdsdom in your councils ? From 
 
 ^ " It is very strange that the nations most celebrated for their 
 
 luxury and police, should be the very countries where the ma^ 
 
 jority of the inhabitants are more unhappy than the savage 
 
 nations, which are held in such contempt by the civilized. It 
 
 k2 
 
132 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the shores of the Baltic to the Southern Ocean, and 
 from the continents of America to the borders of 
 China, your ships are ploughing the seas, laden with 
 the overflowing riches of the empire. With what 
 astonishment will they hear that thousands of your 
 own citizens are perishing, for want of a small pit- 
 tance of that wealth with which you are overwhelming 
 their markets ! 
 
 " * Since neither considerations for the dignity of 
 the empire, your own individual characters, the re- 
 putation of this Assembly, nor the severe distresses of 
 a suffering people, have inspired you with sufficient 
 perseverance in restoring order and happiness to a 
 perturbed and afflicted community, I must consign you 
 
 is a question, whether the condition of a savage be not preferable 
 to that of a peasant ? The savage has no prison, no increase of 
 imposts, to fear; no oppressive lord, nc tyrannical sub-delegate ; 
 he is not perpetually mortified and debased, by daily seeing 
 persons infinitely above him in riches and power : without 
 superior, without servitude, more healthy and vigorous than the 
 peasant, because happier ; he enjoys the satisfaction of equality, 
 especially of that inestimable privilege, liberty, so vainly claimed 
 by most nations. 
 
 " In policed countries, the whole art of government has often 
 consisted in making an infinite number of men subservient 
 to the happiness of a few; in keeping for this purpose the 
 multitude under oppression, and in violating all the privileges 
 of himianity they have a right to demand," — He/vetius. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 133 
 
 to the chastisement of that best of all tutors, Experi- 
 ence, who will not fail to teach you a salutary lesson. — 
 I banish you for one year to the bogs of Ireland ; 
 there clothed in rags, with the mud cottages for your 
 dwellings, your fare shall in all respects correspond 
 with the present condition of the Irish peasant. 
 At the conclusion of the year you shall again assem- 
 ble in committee, when having shared their hard lot 
 you will be better able to estimate the dreadful extent 
 of their sufferings '.' " 
 
 " When this sentence was pronounced, there arose 
 on all sides of the house, murmurs against the extreme 
 severity of the punishment. The Speaker called the 
 members to order, and thus reproved them : 
 
 " * It appears. Gentlemen, that you are prompt to 
 commiserate the fate of a few individuals of your own 
 rank, and yet the cries of famishing thousands 
 could not awaken your sympathy. In strict justice 
 I ought to have awarded a punishment equal in se- 
 verity to the greatest extent of the evil of which 
 
 Take physic, Pomp ; 
 
 Expose thyself X.0 feel vihat wretches feel ; 
 
 That thou may'st shake the Superflux to Them, 
 
 And show the Heavens more just." — Shakespeare. 
 
134 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the committee have been too regardless : but there 
 is no probabihty that any fatal consequences will 
 result from their temporary banishment, as all ac- 
 counts agree in stating that in the ensuing year 
 there is every prospect of an abundant harvest of 
 potatoes.' " 
 
 Saadi. — " There is, as you observe, too much of 
 impartial justice in this address to belong to the Age 
 of Competition ; and I should suspect it was penned 
 by some early disciple of your communities, who la- 
 mented the publication of a Report which might have 
 derived unmerited consequence from the character of 
 its authors. — But now to resume our walk." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " Along yon glittering sky what glory streams ! 
 What majesty attends Night's lovely queen! 
 Fair laugh our valleys in the vernal beams ! 
 And mountains rise, and oceans roll between, 
 And all conspire to beautify the scene. 
 But, in the mental world, what chaos drear ; 
 What forms of mournful, loathsome, furious mien! 
 O when shall that eternal morn appear. 
 These dreadful forms to chase, this chaos dark to clear?" 
 
 Beattie's Minstrel. 
 
 Saadi. — "How sweet the fragrance of these roses 
 after the refreshing shower ! So interesting was 
 our conversation before we entered the cottage, that 
 I did not observe the aspect of those mountains 
 opposite : — the communities below and the form of 
 the lake appear to be altogether different from those 
 which we left." 
 
 Douglas. — " You are now looking down upon the 
 waters of Loch Sloy : on the left is Loch Long ; and 
 far beyond the mountains opposite lie the western 
 islands." 
 
 Saadi. — " And there will be found the spot I have 
 long desired to visit, since the perusal of that eloquent 
 
136 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 effusion of your great moralist Dr. Johnson, when 
 travelhng through the island of lona. As it is not 
 much in unison with your sentiments, you may not 
 recollect it." 
 
 Douglas. — " I must confess that I do not. Will 
 you have the kindness to repeat it ? " 
 
 Saadi. — 
 
 " ' We were now treading that illustrious island, which 
 was once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence 
 savage clans and roving barbarians derived the benefits of 
 knowledge, and the blessings of religion. To abstract the 
 mind from all local emotions would be impossible, if it 
 were endeavoured, and would be foolish, if it were possi- 
 ble. Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, 
 whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, pre- 
 dominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of 
 thinking beings. Far from me, and from my friends, be 
 such frigid philosophy as may conduct us indifferent and 
 unmoved over any ground, which has been dignified by 
 wisdom, bravery, or virtue. That man is little to be envied, 
 whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of 
 Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among 
 the ruins of lona.' 
 
 " You, Douglas, are one of those whom the Doctor 
 would have removed far away from himself and from 
 his friends." 
 
 Douglas. — " I acknowledge that I cannot call to 
 mind those deeds of Marathon, v/ithout at the same 
 time recollecting the horrid spectacle of blood and 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 137 
 
 carnage which the indiscriminate admirers of he- 
 roism judiciously contrive to conceal^." 
 
 Saadi. — " Shades of departed heroes, ' ye that at 
 Marathon and Leuctra bled/ who fell fighting in the 
 sacred cause of freedom, and even in the agonies of 
 death exhibiting a confidence in the gratitude of your 
 country ! vainly did ye hope that parents would teach 
 their children to lisp your names, to echo your songs 
 of victory, and as they advanced to manhood, to 
 emulate your disinterested and noble sacrifices for 
 your country's liberties ; — the records of your fame 
 are to be obliterated for ever : and if along the 
 deep glens, or on the mountain's side, the Spirits of 
 the Bruces and the Campbells still linger in the 
 scenes of their former renown, should they bend their 
 course hither to learn who it is that obscures their 
 glory, — with what amazement will they hear pro- 
 nounced, the name of Douglas ! Douglas, the descen- 
 
 * " T' indulge fell Rapine's desolating lust, 
 
 To drench the balmy lawn in streaming gore, 
 To spurn the hero's cold and silent dust — 
 
 Are these thy joys ? Nor throbs thy heart for more ? 
 
 Pleas'd canst thou listen to the patriot's groan, 
 And the wild wail of innocence forlorn ? 
 And hear th' abandon'd maid's last frantic moan, 
 
 Her love for ever from her bosom torn ? " — Dr. Beattie. 
 
138 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 daiit of ancestors illustrious in the annals of Scotland — 
 But hark ! whence proceed those enchanting sounds ? 
 Delighted as I have been with the music accompanying 
 your ceremonies this morning, I am infinitely more so 
 with what we now hear ; the effect is heightened by 
 the stillness of the night, and the calm beauty of 
 this scene ; the melody is well known to the Persians, 
 and is generally played previous to a battle ; — never 
 do they hear it but ' they long to follow to the field 
 some warlike lord — ' " 
 
 Douglas^. — " To destroy their fellow creatures ! 
 And never do we hear it, but we long to join in an 
 expedition to extend more widely the knowledge and 
 practice of those principles, which can alone eman- 
 cipate mankind from the dominion of error *^. We 
 
 '' " The heroism tliat results" says Montesquieu " from just 
 morals interests few ; the heroism that is most destructive, is the 
 admiration of the muhitude." — Happily for the interests of hu- 
 manity, the multitude are rapidly acquiring the discrimination 
 of the few. 
 
 *=■ " If the generous pride, the passion of patriotism and glory, 
 determine citizens to such heroic actions, with what resolution 
 and intrepidity do not the passions inspire those who aim at 
 distinction in the arts and sciences, and whom Cicero calls the 
 peaceable heroes ? It is from a desire of glory, that the astro- 
 nomer is seen on the icy summits of the Cordilleras, placing his 
 instruments in the midst of snows and frost ; which conducts the 
 botanist to the brinks of precipices in quest of plants ; which an- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 139 
 
 have two compositions set to this tune. In one, the 
 pleasures of benevolent exertion are set forth ; in the 
 other, the magnificent results that must arise when 
 true knowledge shall be universally diffused. I now 
 recollect that a party of our youth, with some of the 
 neighbouring communities, were to pass a few hours 
 to-night in one of the observatories : and as they ge- 
 nerally associate the amplitude of the idea of universal 
 benevolence with the exalted views of the creation 
 derived from a survey of the heavens, they are per- 
 forming this favourite air as they descend the moun- 
 tain. And oh how pure and unalloyed are their as- 
 sociations! while yours can never be contemplated 
 by an enlightened mind with unmixed delight ; for 
 the march of conquerors is tracked with desolation, 
 
 ciently carried the juvenile lovers of the sciences into Egypt, 
 Ethiopia, and even into the Indies, for visiting the most cele- 
 brated philosophers, and acquiring from their conversation the 
 principles of their doctrine. 
 
 " It is from the same desire of glory, that the young Pytha- 
 goreans submitted to a silence of three years, in order to habi- 
 tuate themselves to recollection and meditation ; it induced De- 
 mocritus to shun the distractions of the world and retire among 
 the tombs, to meditate on those valuable truths, the discovery 
 of which, as it is always very difficult, is also very little es- 
 teemed :'^in fine, it was this that prompted Heraclitus to cede to 
 his younger brother the throne of Ephesus that he might give 
 himself entirely to philosophy." — Helvetius. 
 
140 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 but the progress of knowledge and benevolence 
 resembles refreshing streams spreading through 
 every country, and dispensing fertility and beauty in 
 their course. No, Saadi, as yon glittering stars 
 are absorbed and invisible in the light of day, so 
 must the brilliancy of militaiy renown be lost in the 
 glory that has risen upon the moral world •*." 
 
 Saadi. — " I perceive you are determined to drive 
 me from every position." 
 
 Douglas. — " War and punishment must cease ; 
 for as man does not form his own character, it is 
 injustice and cruelty to visit him with punishment 
 Under those systems alone that are founded in error, 
 the fear of punishment to restrain violence is indis- 
 pensable, — as the body disordered by intemperance 
 requires remedies which in its healthy state would not 
 only be unnecessary but injurious." 
 
 Saadi. — " When you say that man does not 
 form his own character, — do you contend that the 
 robber has it not in his power to govern his own ac- 
 tions?" 
 
 •^ " But if there be in glory ought of good, 
 It may by means far different be attain'd, 
 Without ambition, war, or violence; — 
 By deeds of peace, by wisdom eminent." — Milton. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 141 
 
 Douglas. — " The motives which impell the robber, 
 have been produced by the circumstances under 
 which he has been placed, acting upon his pecuhar 
 organization ; for the characters of men, without any 
 exception, are formed by their natural disposition and 
 by the circumstances in which they have been trained 
 from infancy." 
 
 Saadi. — " But when the individual arrives at adult 
 age, has he not reason and religion to guide his con- 
 duct ? At Ispahan, where brothers are educated to- 
 gether, they sometimes exhibit in after-life charac- 
 ters totally opposite, — they therefore determine for 
 themselves ; how then can it be said that man does 
 not form his own character ? " 
 
 Douglas. — " Imagine that two brothers with equal 
 advantages of education, and alike correct in princi- 
 ple, quit their parents' roof at a mature age ; the one 
 is by nature lively, the other sedate; the former is 
 captivated with splendid equipages and every gay 
 scene, while the other delights in the quiet enjoy- 
 ments of literature and retirement. The former in 
 order to gratify his taste, requires a larger income : 
 this want, together with the company of new asso- 
 ciates, exposes him to temptations which ultimately 
 lead to the sacrifice of his principles. Has not 
 his natural disposition been too powerful for the con- 
 
142 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 trol of reason and religion^? while that of the other 
 not having exposed him to tlie hke temptations, his 
 principles are preserved. The disposition given at 
 birth, combined with subsequent circumstances, has 
 thus formed the character of each, and in no respect 
 can they be said to have formed their own charac- 
 ters. The circumstances in their domestic circle had 
 been judiciously regulated by their parents; and 
 if the institutions and customs of general society had 
 not presented to the one injurious excitements, his 
 character would have continued unimpaired. You 
 observe that in our communities, the animated and 
 the studious can alike find harmless but exquisite 
 pleasures, useful occupation, and congenial minds ; 
 but in Persia, men are probably doomed to employ- 
 ments for which they are disqualified by nature or 
 by acquired habits. It follows therefore that they 
 become dissatisfied, and consequently negligent and 
 
 '^ Pope refers to education in its most comprehensive sense 
 and just definition in the following lines. 
 
 " T'is education forms the common mind : 
 Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined. 
 Boastful and rough, your first son is a squire ; 
 The next a tradesman, meek, and much a liar; 
 Tom struts a soldier, open, bold, and brave; 
 Will sneaks a scriv'ner, an exceeding knave." 
 
 Moral Essays. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 143 
 
 unsuccessful, and that the ultimate consequences are 
 
 poverty and crime ^. Delay not on your return to 
 
 Persia to proclaim the all-important truth that 
 
 " 'Any general character, from the best to the worst, 
 from the most ignorant to the most enlightened, may be 
 given to any community, even to the world at large, by the 
 appHcation of proper means ; which means are, to a great 
 extent, at the command and under the control of those who 
 have influence in the affairs of men.' " — Owen's Essays. 
 
 ^ " If morahty hitherto has little contributed to the happi- 
 ness of mankind, it is not owing to any want of perspicuity or 
 beautyof style, or propriety and loftiness of sentiment, in the mo- 
 ralists : but amidst all their superior talents, it must be owned 
 that they have not often enough considered the different vices 
 of nations as necessarily resulting from the different form of 
 their government; yet, it is only by considering morality in this 
 point of light, that it can become of any real use to men. What 
 have hitherto been the effects of all the splendid maxims of mo- 
 rality ? If some individuals have been corrected by them of 
 faults, which perhaps they reproached themselves with, no change 
 in the manners of nations have been produced. What is this to 
 be imputed to ? It is because the vices of a people, if I may 
 presume to say so, always lie at the bottom of its legislation. 
 There he must search, who would pluck up the root whence its 
 vices arise. To attempt extinguishing the vices annexed to the 
 legislation of a people, without making any change in this le- 
 gislation, is no less than rejecting the just consequence, after 
 admitting the principles." — Helvetius. 
 
 " All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind, 
 have been convinced that the fate of empires depended on the 
 education given to youth ; and from their reflections we may 
 lay it down as an evident principle, that education, the laws, and 
 manners, ought never to contradict each other." — Anachursis. 
 
144 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Saadi — " But are you aware of the danger of in- 
 forming the people of Persia that they do not form 
 their own characters, — will they not from thence in- 
 fer that they are not accountable for their actions ? " 
 
 Douglas. — " The apprehension of danger from the 
 armouncement of truth in Persia, proves that your 
 institutions are defective. Whatever temporary evils 
 might result from the supposed premature promulga- 
 tion of truth, will weigh only as a feather in the ba- 
 lance against the infinity of good that must inevitably 
 arise from the adoption of correct principles : that pro- 
 cess of reasoning which convinces the understanding 
 that ' the character is formedybr and not bt/ the indi- 
 vidual' discloses at the same time the means by which 
 valuable characters alone may be formed, and de- 
 scribes an order of society in which the announcement 
 of truths of every description will be universally de- 
 sired : — but in no state of society can the suppression 
 of truth be beneficial^. The self-deceived and con- 
 scientious defenders of error may for a time take 
 
 ^ " I look upou the discovery of any thing which is true, as 
 a valuable acquisition to society ; which cannot possibly hurt, 
 or obstruct the good eflfect of any other truth whatsoever : for 
 they all partake of one common essence, and necessarily coin- 
 cide with each other ; and like the drops of rain, which fall se- 
 parately into the river, mix themselves at once with the stream, 
 and strengthen the sreneral current." — Middkton. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 145 
 
 alarm, but soon will they be the foremost to hail this 
 truth as one of unequalled value. If Copernicus and 
 Galileo did nothesitate to brave the prejudices of man- 
 kind, and to incur the risk of persecution, rather than 
 withhold their discoveries from the world, — how much 
 stronger must be your motives to pursue a conduct 
 equally undaunted. Never was a truth proclaimed 
 of such immeasurable importance and of such exten- 
 sive consequences : — a truth not remotely affecting 
 the interests of society ; but one calculated to facili- 
 tate the discovery and diffusion of all truths, to pro- 
 mote the rapid advancement of the arts and sciences, 
 and to secure the virtue and happiness of mankind 
 upon an immutable basis. As the mind is the in- 
 strument by which all good is obtained, — whatever 
 enables society to form superior minds, must infi- 
 nitely transcend all other discoveries : and besides, 
 with what pangs of remorse will you behold the poor 
 criminal dragged to execution, if you neglect to re- 
 model those institutions of your country, to which he 
 has fallen a victim''." 
 
 '' It will be highly gratifying to the friends of humanity to 
 learn that one of the most able, conscientious, and exemplary 
 defenders of Christianity, has declared himself inimical to the 
 present frame of society, upheld as it is by emulation, and 
 
146 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 The two friends pursued this train of reasoning 
 as they walked once more round the terrace, and 
 as they descended the mountain : at a short di- 
 stance from the foot of which they entered a lofty 
 marble colonnade, lighted by lamps suspended from 
 a semicircular roof. This colonnade led directly 
 to their community. They passed on in silence, 
 for Saadi was in a thoughtful mood, and Douglas 
 was unwilling to interrupt his reflections. When 
 they reached the building appropriated to strangers, 
 Saadi took Douglas by the hand and observed, 
 " What you have so eloquently enforced regarding 
 
 by individual competitors. I must candidly confess that the 
 following passage, from the " Practical View of Christianity," is 
 my sole but ample authority, for concluding that the enlightened 
 mind of Mr. Wilberforce renounces the existing vicious system, 
 and approves the co-operative arrangements, as the only plan of 
 social union, in accordance with practical Christianity. His 
 faithful description of the progress of a competitor, refers the la- 
 mentable change of character, in a manner so convincing, to er- 
 roneous education and defective institutions, that we almost lose 
 sight of the doctrine of original sin, and more especially, as the 
 earlier dispositions of his Nero and Timon are represented as 
 soft and susceptible, generous, and beneficent. 
 
 '* It may be sufficient to have hinted at a few of the vicissi- 
 tudes of advancing lite ; let the reader's own mind fill up the 
 catalogue. Now the bosom is no longer cheerful and placid ; 
 and if the countenance preserve its exterior character, this is no 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 147 
 
 the formation of character, has operated upon my 
 mind almost with the conviction of truth ; but the 
 principle so ill accords with some of my previous 
 impressions, that I must investigate further ere I 
 assent to the truth of your proposition." 
 
 " Farewell," replied Douglas ; " but in all your in- 
 quiries, permit me to remind you of the consolatory 
 words of John Locke : 
 
 " ' He that makes use of the light and faculties God has 
 given him, and seeks sincerely to discover truth by those 
 helps and abilities he has, may have this satisfaction in 
 
 longer the honest expression of the heart. Prosperity and 
 luxury gradually extinguishing sympathy, and puffing up with 
 pride, harden and debase the soul. In other instances shame 
 secretly clouds, and remorse begins to sting, and suspicion to 
 corrode, and jealousy and envy to embitter. Disappointed hopes, 
 unsuccessful competitions, and frustrated pursuits, sour and ir- 
 ritate the temper. A little personal experience of the selfish- 
 ness of mankind, damps our generous warmth and kind affec- 
 tions ; reproving the prompt sensibility and unsuspecting sim- 
 plicity of our earlier years. Above all, ingratitude sickens the 
 heart, and chills, and thickens the very life's-blood of benevo- 
 lence; till at length our youthful Nero, soft and susceptible, 
 becomes a hard and cruel tyrant ; and our youthful Timon, the 
 gay, the generous, the beneficent, is changed into a cold, sour, 
 silent misanthrope." — Wilberforce's Practical View of Christi- 
 anity, p. 217. 
 
 l2 
 
148 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 doing his duty as a rational creature, that though he should 
 miss truth, he will not miss the reward of it',' " 
 
 ' "The man who consecrates his hours 
 
 By vig'rous effort, and an honest aim. 
 
 At once he draws the sting of life and death, 
 
 He walks with nature; and her paths are peace." — Young. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " When from the hps of Truth one mighty breath 
 Shall, like a whirlwind, scatter in its breeze 
 The whole dark pile of human mockeries ; 
 Then shall the Reign of Mind commence on earth, 
 And starting fresh as from a second birth, 
 Man, in the sunshine of the world's new spring, 
 Shall walk transparent, like some holy thing." 
 
 Moore's Lalla Rook/i. 
 
 The apartment occupied by Saadi was spacious 
 and splendidly decorated : for although the rooms of 
 the community in general were furnished and orna- 
 mented in a style of simple elegance, yet, at a very 
 short notice, preparations had been made for the re- 
 ception of the illustrious Persian, suited to the cus- 
 tom of his country. In an adjoining room was a 
 bed with hangings of rich blue silk lined with straw- 
 colour, at the head of which the sun was represented 
 in burnished gold. — Saadi was followed to his apart- 
 ment by two youths, about ten years of age : he had 
 desired them not to sit up for him ; but they were ap- 
 prehensive he might be cold and fatigued on his return, 
 and they had prepared some coffee. Saadi was sensibly 
 
150 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 affected by their attention. The youths observing he 
 was unusually serious, at first attempted to enliven 
 him by conversation ; but perceiving that he wished 
 to be alone, retired. " Happy youths," observed 
 Saadi as they closed the door, " your minds will not 
 be distracted by dogmas before your reasoning powers 
 are sufficiently matured to enable you to examine 
 their foundation*. If the opinions of Douglas re- 
 garding the human character be correct, the whole 
 system of rewards and punishments must fall to the 
 ground." It was customary with Saadi to read a 
 portion of the Koran every night before he retired. 
 He threw himself on the couch, and opened the vo- 
 lume in the sixteenth chapter, entitled " The Bee 
 revealed at Mecca," and read the following passage. 
 
 " If God had pleased, he would surely have made you 
 one people : but he will lead into error whom he pleaseth, 
 
 * " What from this barren being do we reap ? 
 Our senses narrow, and our reason frail. 
 Life short, and truth a gem which loves the deep, 
 And all things weigh'd in custom's falsest scale ; 
 Opinion an omnipotence, whose veil 
 Mantles the earth with darkness, until right 
 And wrong are accidents, and men grow pale, 
 Lest their own judgements should become too bright. 
 
 And their free thoughts be crimes, and earth have too much light." 
 
 Bi/ron. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 151 
 
 and he will direct whom he pleaseth ; and ye shall surely 
 give an account of that which ye have done. Therefore 
 take not your oaths between you deceitfully, lest your foot 
 slip, after it hath been steadfastly fixed, and ye taste evil 
 in this life, for ye have turned aside from the way of God ; 
 and ye suffer a grievous punishment in the life to come. 
 And sell not the Covenant of God for a small price : for 
 with God is a better recompence prepared for you, if ye be 
 men of understanding. That which is with you will fail ; 
 but that which is with God is permanent : and we will 
 surely reward those who shall persevere, according to the 
 utmost merit of their actions." 
 
 " There is much perplexity in this passage," ob- 
 served Saadi, shutting the book ; " in the former part 
 of it, God is said to govern the actions of men, and 
 at the close, that they are to be rewarded according 
 to their merit. The inhabitants of these happy so- 
 cieties attach no importance to the belief of doctrines 
 that are inexplicable, for justly do they say, ' No man 
 can coxumand his belief, he must be guided solely by 
 the evidence placed before him.' But yet in Persia 
 we are deemed almost criminal for not beheving even 
 against the conviction of our understanding." 
 
 Saadi retired ; but his mind was so divided be- 
 tween that which appeared to be his duty, and the 
 principles which had been propounded, that it was 
 long ere sleep closed his eyes.— When he awoke, he 
 found himself in the same perturbation of mind. 
 
152 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Upon entering his sitting-room, he was gratified to see 
 a letter upon the table with the well known super- 
 scription of Almured. He hastily broke the seal, 
 and read as follows : 
 
 " A few days since I received your letter from Na- 
 ples ; and as an opportunity presents itself of for- 
 warding this by an overland dispatch, it will pro- 
 bably reach Greenock by the time of your arrival : 
 — as the messenger is waiting, you must excuse its 
 brevity. 
 
 " I am happy to hear that your health has been 
 preserved in all the variety of climate through which 
 you have passed, and that you were so much delighted 
 with the ruins of Rome. By this time you are upon 
 my classic ground, and I look with great anxiety for 
 an early account of the communities. Should the 
 intelligence I receive from you confirm the previous 
 accounts, my influence in the councils of Persia will 
 be considerably augmented. Already are my plans 
 deemed less visionary since the success of the infant 
 schools. You recollect the strenuous opposition I 
 experienced in the introduction of that system ; but 
 now the schools are become very general and popular. 
 Would that it could be perceived that an infant 
 school is the epitome of what the world may one 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 153 
 
 day become ; and that it is only necessary to apply 
 the same simple principles in governing adults, in 
 order to produce the happiest results. Let rewards 
 and punishments be abolished, — withdraw from so- 
 ciety the useless objects of contention and rivalry, — 
 and unite the private with the public interests. But 
 I forget that I am speaking to one who by this time 
 may be deeply initiated, and from whom I am ex- 
 pecting a commentary that is to enlighten me upon 
 the most interesting of all subjects. Adieu ! May 
 the wings of peace hover over you ! And in what- 
 ever region you may wander, you will ever be at- 
 tended by the anxious solicitude of your early pre- 
 ceptor and friend, Almured." 
 
 " P.S. I saw your father a short time since, and I 
 regret to add that his health is still declining : he 
 desired me to send you his affectionate regards, and 
 earnestly to exhort that in all your pursuits you would 
 never abandon the religion of your country." 
 
 This postscript was but ill calculated to calm the 
 agitated feelings of Saadi ; and he was beginning to 
 debate in his mind whether he should not for ever 
 renounce all further inquiries, when he was inter- 
 
154 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 rupted by Douglas, who entered the apartment ac- 
 companied by a female whose intelligent and animated 
 comitenance mio-ht have enlivened a sadder heart 
 than that of Saadi. She was about eighteen years 
 of age, of an elegant figure, with eyes expressive of 
 mildness and intelligence ; her complexion was fair, 
 displaying a glow of health equally remote from 
 coarseness and from effeminacy. She wore a High- 
 land Bonnet with black feathers. 
 
 " I come," said Douglas, " to introduce to you 
 Margaret Mackenzie. We should have been with 
 you earlier, had I not observed that the curtains of 
 your window were undrawn." 
 
 " I have had the pleasure of seeing you before," 
 remarked Saadi addressing himself to Margaret ; 
 " for if I mistake not, it was you to whom Douglas 
 yesterday presented a rose as he conducted you to 
 the boat." 
 
 Margaret acknowledged it by a graceful inclina- 
 tion of the head, and cast an expressive look at 
 Douglas ; who, as he conducted her to a seat, evinced 
 by his manner, that, however his affections were 
 bestowed upon the community in general, he re- 
 garded Margaret Mackenzie with more especial fa- 
 vour. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 155 
 
 Douglas. — " I fear that I detained you too long 
 upon the mountain last night, and that you retired 
 too late to enjoy a refreshing sleep." 
 
 Saadi. — " No, Douglas, it was not the lateness of 
 the hour, but the subject of our conversation, that 
 has occasioned me some uneasiness of mind. — Read 
 this letter, and mark the postscript." 
 
 Douglas. — *' And were any of my propositions at 
 variance with the Koran? — if so, and the propositions 
 themselves are true, that portion of the Koran which 
 contradicts them must be either false or erroneously 
 construed. You have been taught to believe that 
 the Koran was revealed by the Deity ; but the tra- 
 dition rests upon human testimony : and if it were 
 so revealed, it has been transmitted perhaps with 
 alterations and interpolations which may have per- 
 verted the original meaning. At all events you cannot 
 resist the evidence of your senses regarding the for- 
 mation of character. But why should you be discom- 
 posed, so long as your professions are sincere ?" 
 
 Saadi. — " You know not how painful it is to live 
 amongst a people differing in religion from yourself, 
 and with whom you have few ideas in common upon 
 subjects the most interesting that can engage the 
 human mind ; to be severed from the companions of 
 your earliest years, and from those who have been 
 
156 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 endeared to you by congeniality of sentiment ; to be 
 pointed at as an infidel ; to hear children cautioned 
 to shun your society and avoid the contagion of your 
 principles. Yet here lies my choice, — either to practise 
 the hypocrite and secure the good opinion of the 
 Persians, or to avow ingenuously my principles and 
 forfeit their esteem ; but, what is far more distressing, 
 to embitter the few remaining years of an affectionate 
 and revered parent." 
 
 Margaret. — " I am not acquainted with the wri- 
 tings of the Koran, but it is very probable that it may 
 contain passages in unison with the principles to 
 which you have alluded, although other parts may be 
 seemingly opposed to it. About this time last year 
 we were visited by a lady from the Ionian Islands 
 who was of the Greek church. The delight she 
 evinced in beholding the happiness of our commu- 
 nities was quite enthusiastic. But when we conversed 
 together upon the first principle of the co-operative 
 system, that * the character is formedybr and not bi/ 
 the individual,' she could not for a time comprehend 
 it, but at length she was fully convinced of its truth. 
 Her mind, however, became very uneasy, from the ap- 
 prehension that it was opposed to Christianity, — for 
 she was sincere and pious. But upon studying the 
 Scriptures more carefully, she discovered many pas- 
 
THE REVOLT OF TFIE BEES. 157 
 
 sages confirmatory of the truth b; and she resolved 
 upon her return to the Ionian Islands to endeavour 
 strenuously to estabhsh communities." 
 
 Douglas. — " Before the days of Galileo it was 
 considered impious to doubt that the earth was fixed, 
 and that the sun revolved round it, because the fact 
 was recorded in Scripture. But when it was disco- 
 
 b « 
 
 But now, O Lord, thou art our Father : we are the clay, 
 and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."— 
 Isaiah Ixiv. 8. 
 
 " For who maketh thee to diflfer from another ? and what hast 
 thou that thou didst not receive ? now if thou didst receive it, 
 why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it ?"— 1 Corinth. 
 iv. 7. 
 
 " I am the vine, ye are the branches : he that abideth in me, 
 and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without 
 me ye can do nothing." — John xv. 5. 
 
 " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing 
 as of ourselves ; but our sufficiency is of God."— 2 Corinth, iii. c. 
 
 "For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do 
 of his good pleasure." — Philipp. ii. 13. 
 
 « Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us : for thou also hast 
 wrought all our works in m."— Isaiah xxvi. 12. 
 
 « Surelyyour turning of things upside down shall be esteemed 
 as the potters' clay : for shall the work say of him that made it 
 He made me not .? or shall the thing framed say of him that 
 framed it. He had no understanding ?"—Jsa/a/i xxix. 16. 
 
 " The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the 
 wicked for the day of evil." — Proverbs xvi. 4. 
 
 "A man's heart deviseth his way : but the Lord directeth his 
 steps." — Prov. xvi. 9. 
 
158 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 vered, and generally understood, that the sun was 
 the centre of the system, a different interpretation of 
 the Mosaic account of the creation did not invalidate 
 the valuable part of the Bible. The principle on 
 which the character is formed is so incontestably 
 true, that whatever in any religion contradicts it, must 
 be either false or misinterpreted. Pursue the course 
 which Margaret recommends, and you will most pro- 
 bably find that whatever is truly valuable in the Ko- 
 ran will not be incompatible with the co-operative 
 order of society. — But this morning I wish to exhibit 
 to you a different scene to that you witnessed yes- 
 terday. The rain is falling in torrents, and all the 
 members will be engaged in the libraries, the gym- 
 nasium, or the manufactories ; for our occupations are 
 varied according to the weather or the seasons. Du- 
 ring the harvest when a favourable day occurs, all are 
 engaged in the fields, and the whole of the crop of 
 hay or corn is cut in a single day '^. In the depth of 
 winter those manufactures are carried on which re- 
 quire large furnaces, or in which those employed are 
 exposed to heat. But as there is no occupation from 
 
 *= . . . . " quae muhitudo frumentatorum, quum ad ipsum diem 
 opportune adsit, uno prope sereno die tota frumentatione de- 
 fiinguntur." — Sir Thomas More. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 159 
 
 which any individual is exempt in rotation, it becomes 
 equally the interest of all to diminish the inconve- 
 nience of any irksome or disagreeable employment ; 
 and this through the aid of machinery and scientific 
 arrangements has to a very great extent been accom- 
 plished." 
 
 The two faithful attendants upon Saadi now made 
 their appearance with his morning's repast. They in- 
 quired if he would require them again before the 
 evening ; if not, they proposed spending a few hours 
 in the printing-rooms. Saadi released them for. the 
 day, adding, that he should perhaps meet with them 
 during his morning's ramble. Soon after, he walked 
 out with Margaret and Douglas. The hotel being 
 situate at the corner of the square, they entered one 
 of the colonnades diverging from the community, and 
 proceeded about a quarter of a mile before they 
 reached the first manufactory. Along this colonnade 
 seats were placed at certain distances, and also large 
 stands of flowers and shrubs : there were also several 
 green-houses with curious exotics and rich graperies. 
 They visited a glass manufactory, a type foundry, 
 and a paper manufactory : connected with the latter 
 was a printing and binding establishment ; the steam- 
 engine was very powerful, and shafts in various di- 
 rections served for many purposes. In passino- 
 
160 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 through the printing-rooms, Saadi recognised his two 
 youthful attendants busily employed. He approached 
 them, and saw that they were composing some Per- 
 sian characters; but they manifested a desire not 
 to be questioned or particularly noticed. Saadi ob- 
 served this to Margaret, who replied that they had 
 heard him express a wish for a number of tracts 
 containing the rudiments of the co-operative system, 
 in the Persian language, that they had obtained 
 a translation from the College, and were preparing a 
 proof. 
 
 Saadi had never seen any manufactories where the 
 buildings and workmen were not dirty ; and although 
 he had expected something veiy different here, yet 
 the spectacle itself agreeably surprised him. The 
 same attention was paid to the cleanliness of the 
 buildings both internally and externally, as to those 
 which were inhabited ; and although the different at- 
 titudes of those employ ed, did not allow them to display 
 that grace and dignity so conspicuous when in the act 
 of walking, yet neither their occupation nor the change 
 of dress could disguise that high expression of in- 
 tellioence in the countenance, or conceal from the 
 eye of an observer that they were a people of a supe- 
 rior character. In all the manufactories, children 
 with their attendants were looking on, and learning 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. IGl 
 
 the different arts theoretically and practically at the 
 same time, or assisting in some subordinate opera- 
 tions. There were several very elderly men and wo- 
 men, incapable of affording any material assistance, 
 yet so strong was their desire to be usefully employed, 
 that they were seated at the machines performing 
 some simple operation, such as pulling a string, or 
 adjusting a wire. Saadi was delighted to observe 
 the affectionate attention paid to these elders by the 
 children and young people who were looking on ; they 
 went up to them to inquire after their health, and 
 would then remain and receive instruction in what 
 was going on. The elders appeared gratified with 
 this further opportunity of being useful. After spend- 
 ing nearly two hours in the different manufactories, 
 Douglas proposed that they should visit the large 
 cotton-manufactory, carried on by four communities 
 conjointly, and situate at the extremity of their lands, 
 at a point equidistant from all. " We have no parti- 
 cular inducement," said Douglas, " to establish a cot- 
 ton manufactory ; but as the article was spun in great 
 abundance in this neighbourhood under the Compe- 
 titive System, and at the time when communities 
 were first formed, the manufacture was adopted as a 
 source of profit, and to display to society at large the 
 rapid progress that could be made, even in the ac- 
 
 M 
 
162 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 quisition of wealth, (almost the sole object of the 
 Competitive Age,) under our arrangements ; and as 
 all the operations, from spinning the cotton wool to 
 the completion of the article, require a considerable 
 number of hands, this establishment is carried on by 
 four communities, but they frequently receive further 
 aid from neighbouring societies." 
 
 The path leading to the cotton-manufactory was 
 along a wide gravel walk, over which a handsome 
 awning was erected ; on one side was a railway, 
 and on the other a o-rass walk bordered with flowers, 
 strawberry-beds, and fruit-trees. Scarcely had they 
 entered this walk, when Douglas requested Saadi to 
 give him his opinion of what he had seen. 
 
 Saadi. — " I must acknowledge that I have never 
 witnessed greater skill and expertness than in the 
 operations going forward, or specimens of more ad- 
 mirable workmanship than in the articles when finish- 
 ed. You certainly falsify the opinion — that a very 
 minute division of labour is necessary, and that each 
 individual should be invariably employed in one pro- 
 cess only, in order to acquire perfection." 
 
 Douglas. — " That division of labour facilitates 
 production is an undeniable fact; and you perceive 
 that it is applied here, and more generally, since we 
 adopt it in every occupation, — in domestic offices, in 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 163 
 
 education, &c. ; but it is equally evident that intense 
 and unremitting application to one employment is 
 quite unnecessary. To such an extent was this divi- 
 sion of labour formerly carried, that although the me- 
 chanic acquired great proficiency in his de2:)artment, 
 yet his physical and mental powers were materially 
 injured, and his life shortened. With us, each is en- 
 gaged in a variety of employments ; but there is ge- 
 nerally one to which the individual is more particu- 
 larly attached, and in which he always excels, and he 
 is far superior to the artisan in the same branch under 
 the Competitive System ; for although not so inces- 
 santly engaged, yet he has more elasticity and vigour, 
 more intelligence and greater interest in his employ- 
 ment. But even if superior skill were not displayed, 
 we should consider it of much more importance to 
 preserve the health of our friends unimpaired, than 
 to sacrifice it for a little more dexterity in his occu- 
 pation." 
 
 Margaret. — " But one of the worst features in the 
 management of manufactures under the old system, 
 was the employment of children of a tender age in 
 cotton-mills for many hours in the day, allowing no 
 time for their mental improvement : — I believe the 
 legislature after the evil had become very palpable, 
 limited the hours to ten ; but that time was too long 
 M 2 
 
164 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 for the unhealthy nature of the occupation, and its 
 unsuitableness to the active disposition of children." 
 Douglas. — " Machinery under a proper direction 
 is a most invaluable blessing, and with it almost all 
 our wants are supplied*^. But there were many cala- 
 mitous effects attending the commencement and pro- 
 gress of mechanism in manufactures, from about the 
 middle of the last century to the close of the com- 
 mercial system. Previously, the labouring classes, 
 as they were called, lived in neat cottages, surrounded 
 
 "^ " The result of these combined proceedings, was to leave 
 this country, at the commencement of peace, with a working 
 population of about six millions, and an increased mechanical 
 agency, which is now daily at work, that effects as much as 
 could be accomplished by the united labour of one hundred and 
 fifty millions more : and without consuming either food or rai- 
 ment, and requiring but few of other articles of manufacture. 
 The certain results of this unnoticed change, in the manner of 
 supplying this and other countries, was to add, in a most ex- 
 traordinary manner, to the amount of annual products, without 
 increasing the power of consumption in the same proportion. 
 
 " This is the grand cause that is constantly operating every 
 hour to grind you to misery ; and, while it continues, without 
 other arrangements being made to give a right direction to this 
 magic power, hitherto unknown to the world, you must be sub- 
 jected not only to the misery that now exists, but to much 
 greater. 
 
 " Investigate this subject now, or ere long, dire necessity will 
 compel you to give due attention to it." — Mr. Ozven's Public 
 AcUlre$s in London, August 21, 1817. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 165 
 
 by a garden ornamented with flowers, in which they 
 cultivated vegetables ; and while the husbandman 
 laboured in the fields, his wife and children were ena- 
 bled to add to their support by means of the spin- 
 ning-wheel : ofthis, however, they were deprived when 
 manufactures began to advance and wool and cotton 
 were spun in mills ; men and their families were then 
 assembled in large masses under circumstances of 
 great discomfort in particular districts, while the con- 
 dition of the agricultural peasantry was greatly dete- 
 riorated by a reduction in the value of labour. When- 
 ever improvements were made in this machinery, or 
 it was applied successively to new branches of ma- 
 nufacture, numbers were thrown out of employment 
 and subjected to want and misery." 
 
 Saadi.—- But did not the Government provide 
 some temporary relief or employment in these times r> 
 Douglas.—- None whatever, they always main- 
 tamed, and with some truth, that the articles manu- 
 factured would be reduced in price, and consequently 
 become more in demand, and thus in a few years 
 require more hands to work additional machinery «i: 
 
 ' This opinion was advanced by Dr. Adam Smith, with ..reat 
 truth, at a period when machinery had made comparative]^ but 
 
 htte progress : such, however, is now the magnitude of its power 
 that It pervades every department of manufactures, and by de 
 
166 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 but ill the mean time many were reduced to a state 
 of idleness, which is always a state of danger even 
 to individuals better trained and educated than they 
 were. They sought relief from the parish : this 
 broke their spirit, and too often rendered them less 
 tenacious of their characters. It is obvious that un- 
 der this combination of circumstances the transi- 
 tion to crime was most probable, and accordingly 
 the prisons were always crowded in a dearth of em- 
 ployment. 
 
 " So extraordinary was the aid derived from the 
 application of science and mechanism in our manu- 
 factures, that the power of production became enor- 
 
 priving surplus capital and labour of profitable employment has 
 completely disorganized society. 
 
 " Can any men have a chance of legislating with success, who 
 are ignorant that a new power is in continual activity in Great 
 Britain alone, which at this day executes more labour than 
 could have been performed by twice the whole manual popula- 
 tion of the world, as that power existed only fifty years ago ? 
 
 " Can there be any hope that legislators should be successfial 
 in securing the happiness of any portion of their fellow-creatures, 
 who are ignorant that this new power is but in its infancy? That 
 nothing can retard it ? That it is the interest of every human 
 being to accelerate its progress, as soon as it shall receive a right 
 direction? That its progress may yet be increased many hun-_ 
 dred fold ?" — See Mr. Owens Letter to the Select Committee, Fe- 
 bruary 4, 1824. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 167 
 
 mous, and produced events in this country unpa- 
 ralleled in the history of mankind. With such ra- 
 pidity did England pour forth her streams of wealth, 
 that every accessible market in the world was soon 
 saturated with the products of her industry. When- 
 ever this occurred, manufacturers suspended their 
 works, and distress and sometimes tumult ensued 
 among the labourers. The superabundance in foreign 
 markets occasioned great losses to the merchants; 
 but the depression in price enabled enterprizing pur- 
 chasers to carry the articles far into the interior of 
 the countries to which they were exported, and thus 
 create an enlarged consumption ; — hence arose a de- 
 mand for replenishing the old and for supplying the 
 new markets. The manufacturers were then not 
 only induced to renew their former labours, but com- 
 pelled to erect a greater number of establishments. 
 As the dissolution of the Commercial System ap- 
 proached, the intervals between the overstocked 
 markets and the renewed demands became more 
 frequent and distressing in their consequences, 
 and upon one occasion the Government feared that 
 the sufferings of the people would terminate in open 
 rebellion^," 
 
 ^ With what consistency can Mr. Malthus and his followers 
 
168 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Saadi. — " What a noble example of philanthropy 
 was displayed by England, in disfiguring the face 
 of the country with the smoke of steam-engines, 
 by immuring her sons and daughters in cotton-mills 
 and loathsome manufactories, or subjecting them 
 to severe privations of food and raiment, in order 
 that the naked savages of distant climes might 
 wear her cotton and woollen garments. The com- 
 merce of the PhcEnicians of Tyre and Sidon and 
 that of Carthage appear to have been conducted 
 upon more selfish principles : they continued not 
 to transport their commodities to distant countries, 
 when they could no longer receive equivalents in ex- 
 change." 
 
 Douglas. — " By whatever motives the Govern- 
 ment was actuated, certain it is, that it was most 
 anxious that foreign countries should not spin cotton 
 or become manufacturers for themselves, and they 
 
 speculate upon the poorer classes regulating the price of labour 
 by prudential marriages, while the increasing use of machinery 
 is perpetually destroying the equilibrium between the supply of, 
 and demand for, labour ? It has been estimated that between 
 the years 179'2 and 1817, the productive power, through the 
 improvements of machinery, increased at the rate of twelve and 
 a fraction to one. — See Mr. Owen's Memorial to Congress. Is 
 population to be restrained at an inverse ratio ? — if so, only one 
 man in twelve must be allowed to marry. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 169 
 
 would willingly have given greater encouragement to 
 the cultivation of the vine in France, rather than 
 that England should cease to be the cave of Vul- 
 can f." 
 
 Saadi. — " Were the millions employed in manu- 
 factories partial to French wines ?" 
 
 Douglas. — " Alas! they were compelled to submit 
 to still greater privations ; to partake of more scanty 
 meals, and to drink a less nutritious beverage, to en- 
 able the privileged few to enjoy additional luxuries. 
 
 " As society was at that time constituted, all who 
 were not either landholders or capitalists, depended 
 
 ' " That countrj' is considered by many as the richest, which 
 abounds most in such things as are generally looked upon as 
 composing wealth ; and the means, in their opinions, to make 
 a country rich, is to make of the people as many manufacturers 
 as can be made ; and to force these to turn out as many manu- 
 factured goods as possible; and that these manufactured things 
 shall be of that kind of which the manufacturers themselves 
 shall consume the least possible quantity. 
 
 " But that might, with much more justice, be called the poor- 
 est country that can be found, since the great bulk of the people 
 have as little as they can possibly be subsisted on. 
 
 " When, therefore, we talk of the riches and flourishing state 
 of the manufacturing countries, we should limit our representa- 
 tions to the few who enjoy the productions of the manufactures ; 
 and not extend them to those who labour in producing them." 
 — Di\ HaWs Effects of Civilization, p. 144. 
 
170 TliE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 upon their labour, bodily or mental, for subsistence : 
 and their welfare in general was regulated by the 
 proportion which their numbers bore to the demand 
 for labour, in the most extensive signification of that 
 term. The introduction of machinery was so much 
 added to the supply of labour, and of course reduced 
 its value." 
 
 Saadi. — " But how could that species of labour 
 which you term mental, be affected by the substitu- 
 tion of machinery for manual labour ?" 
 
 Douglas. — " I wull explain to you the indirect 
 manner in which every kind of labour was influenced 
 by the general introduction of machinery in manu- 
 factures. When large numbers were deprived of em- 
 ployment in any branch of trade, they sought occu- 
 pation in others, or in agriculture ; some, who were 
 better educated, became clerks or teachers, others 
 shopkeepers, so that the supply of labour in general 
 was always increased by every new discovery for its 
 abridgement in particular instances. In like manner, 
 situations under Government were eagerly sought, 
 and the number of candidates for every kind of em- 
 ployment was unprecedented. Nor were the land- 
 holder or the capitalist exempt from the general diffi- 
 culty. Did agriculture evince any symptoms of im- 
 provement, capital was immediately embarked in 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 171 
 
 cultivation, and excess of production rendered it un- 
 profitable ; it was then directed to other channels more 
 promising, where it was soon followed by fresh com- 
 petitors, and withdrawn with loss. In the mean 
 time the wealth of the country continued to accumu- 
 late, until it became extremely difficult to find any 
 profitable employment, either for capital or labour S. 
 " In this course England proceeded until at the 
 commencement of the year 1826 a revulsion took 
 
 ^ Of late we have frequently heard of the low rate of interest 
 in Holland. The difficulty in employing capital and the peo- 
 ple has for several years past rendered it necessary to adopt a 
 system of mutual support in the Overyssel. — A paragraph in a 
 Dutch newspaper of December 1825, after describing the num- 
 ber of the establishments, observes, 
 
 " In general these colonies have succeeded beyond expecta- 
 tion : they have both schools and churches, and present an ap- 
 pearance of contentment. The number of the poor in the Ne- 
 therlands leads to a remarkable conclusion. If among one hun- 
 dred individuals, there are twelve paupers, the latter must be 
 nourished by the remaining eighty-eight. But of these not 
 more than forty-four will be males ; but suppose some of the 
 females work, we must still deduct the children and the aged. 
 But we must also deduct the members of administration, with 
 all the subalterns of government, the military, the clergy, &c. : 
 whence we may conjecture, that in one hundred persons there 
 are not twenty-two who work, and whose labour suffices, — 
 thanks to the fertility of Europe, to industry, and to the perfec- 
 tion of machinery." 
 
172 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 place, which in severity of suffering and extensive 
 ruin almost exceeds belief. Thousands of the peo- 
 ple w^ere reduced to abject poverty, and distress in 
 some shape or other visited every class. At this 
 period the country abounded in all the means es- 
 sential to human enjoyment : — our warehouses were 
 overloaded with the spices, fruits, wines, nay with 
 the produce of every climate ; corn and cattle, and 
 every description of food superabounded ; our own 
 manufactures as also the materials for building ex- 
 ceeded the quantities of any former period ; and 
 there was an immense number of new and unoccu- 
 pied houses. Under these circumstances, what re- 
 medy do you imagine was proposed by the minister 
 for the houseless and destitute population?" 
 
 Saadi. — " Some plan by which they could enjoy 
 the fruits of their own labour, and exchange their 
 surplus produce with each other. In the posses- 
 sion of so much wealth, he could have no other ob- 
 ject in view than a beneficial distribution." 
 
 Douglas. — " The minister was busily employed 
 in searching out new markets for his. silk and cot- 
 ton ; not perceiving that whatever increased con- 
 sumption could be found for these articles abroad, 
 would soon be overtaken and surpassed by the in- 
 creasing powers of production at home, and again in- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 173 
 
 volve them in the hke embarrassments. There were 
 many minor evils arising out of, or co-existent with, 
 this fundamental cause of all their miseries ; such 
 as a defective banking system, a spirit of speculation, 
 and prohibitory laws. To these subordinate difficul- 
 ties the Government confined its attention, and suit- 
 able remedies were proposed. But to hope to correct 
 the disorders of society by such inefficient measures, 
 were as futile as to attempt with a bulrush to stem 
 an overwhelming torrent. 
 
 " But we are now arrived at the cotton-mill ; and 
 as our conversation has turned so much upon the 
 Competitive plans, I must beg to direct your attention 
 to a curious extract from an old newspaper hung 
 upon the side of the entrance, and there placed as 
 describing a remarkable contrast to our present ar- 
 rangements in the manufacture of cotton. It is sup- 
 posed to have been written about the year 1820." 
 Saadi read aloud the following : 
 
 " Progress of a Pound of Cotton. 
 
 " The following account of one pound weight of manu- 
 factured cotton will show the importance of the trade to 
 the country, in a very conspicuous manner. There was 
 sent off for London lately, from Paisley, a small piece of 
 muslin, about one pound weight, the history of which is as 
 follows :— The wool came from the East Indies to London ; 
 from London it went into Lancashire, where it was manu- 
 
174 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 factiired into yarn ; from Manchester it was sent to Pais- 
 ley, where it was woven ; it was sent to Ayrshire next, 
 where it was tamboured ; afterwards it was conveyed to 
 Dumbarton, where it was hand-sewed, and again returned 
 to Paisley, when it was sent to a distant part of the county 
 of Renfrew to be bleached, and was returned to Paisley, 
 whence it was sent to Glasgow, and was finished ; and 
 from Glasgow it was sent per coach to London. It is dif- 
 ficult precisely to ascertain the time taken to bring this 
 article to market ; but it may be pretty near the truth to 
 reckon it three years from the time it was packed in India, 
 till in cloth it arrived at the merchant's warehouse in Lon- 
 don, whither it must have been conveyed five thousand 
 miles by sea, and nine hundred and twenty by land, and 
 contributed to reward no less than one hundred and fifty 
 people, whose services were necessary in the carriage and 
 manufacture of this small quantity of cotton, and by which 
 the value has been advanced 2,000 per cent. What is 
 said of this one piece is descriptive of no inconsiderable 
 part of the trade." 
 
 " This, indeed, is a singular instance of tlie 
 waste of labour under the old system : the pound 
 of cotton appears to have been valued, not accord- 
 ing to its intrinsic worth, but from the expense of 
 time and labour in its production, — as if it had not 
 been desirable to perfect the piece of cotton with less 
 sacrifice of both. The 2,000 per cent must have 
 been so much positive loss to the country." 
 
 Douglas. — " Instead of transporting the cotton 
 from one place to another for the different processes 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 175 
 
 in manufacture, we perform all the operations on the 
 spot : — it is spun, woven, tamboured, hand-sewed, 
 and bleached in contiguous buildings''. It is re- 
 
 '' To give an idea of the power which the first Co-operative 
 Societies will possess before that system becomes general, of 
 underselling, in the disposal of their surplus produce, whatever 
 is brought to market from the establishments of private indivi- 
 duals, we submit the following estimate for the consideration 
 of practical men. 
 
 Two thousand individuals consisting of families of men, wo- 
 men, and children, occupy suitable buildings upon an estate of 
 a thousand acres : five hundred of the community would be 
 amply sufficient to cultivate the land, and to supply the whole 
 with food and clothing ; the labour of the remaining fifteen 
 hundred would be entire profit, after deducting the interest of 
 capital advanced, and the rent of land ; thus, 
 
 Labour of 1500 at 20s, per week, or 50/. per ann. £ 75,000 
 
 Rent £ 2,000 
 
 Interest of capital expended in buildings 3,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 Profit £ 70,000 
 
 Perhaps it may be objected, that as many of the fifteen hun- 
 dred would be women and children, 20s. per week is be- 
 yond the average value of their labour : but on the other hand, 
 there are others whose labour would be worth two or even four 
 and five pounds per week ; and besides, this calculation is sup- 
 posing that the articles sold yielded no more than the mere cost 
 of raw materials and of labour ; whereas if they were sold at 
 an addition of 50 per cent, they would still be far below the 
 
176 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 ceived in its raw state from America and Egypt, 
 and the time consumed from the shipment to the 
 completion of the article does not exceed three 
 months ; and the cost, so far from being augmented 
 to 2,000 per cent, scarcely reaches 200 per cent ; so 
 that if it were our object to manufacture the article 
 to a greater extent than is sufficient to obtain for us 
 all the articles of foreign produce that we require, we 
 could undersell all the manufacturers of those coun- 
 tries which still retain the principle of individual 
 separate interests : but we are far more anxious to 
 impart to them a knowledge of our principles, than 
 to inflict any injury." 
 
 After the various parts of the cotton-manufactory 
 had been visited, the party returned to the com- 
 munity. 
 
 same articles disposed of in ordinary society, and in that case 
 would give the community a surplus income of more than 
 100,000/. This is without taking into account the saving of the 
 various profits and expenses of carriage in the different processes 
 of manufactured goods, which would probably add another 
 100,000/., or even 200,000/. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " What neat repast shall feast us, light and choice, 
 Of Attic taste, with wine, whence we may rise 
 To hear the lute well-to uch'd, or artful voice 
 Warhle immortal notes and Tuscan air ? 
 He who of these delights can judge, and spare 
 To interpose them oft, is not unwise." — Milton's Sonnets. 
 
 As Saadi had not seen the room where dinner was 
 prepared, Douglas proposed showing him that part 
 of the estabhshment a short time previous to the 
 hour of dining. The room was very spacious, about 
 one hundred feet long and sixty wide, and formed 
 the ground floor of the large building situate in the 
 centre of one of the sides of the square. Aided by 
 machinery, and by means of aqueducts and other 
 scientific arrangements, all disagreeable employments 
 had been superseded. At each end of this room 
 was a large sideboard, upon which the dishes were 
 placed in the same order as they were to be disposed 
 on the table : these sideboards when covered were 
 raised by means of elevators through the ceiling into 
 the first floor, which formed two dining-rooms, so that 
 a sideboard came up at the upper end of each : when 
 
 N 
 
178 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the dishes were placed on the table, the sideboards 
 were let down for another set. The whole was con- 
 ducted in the most orderly and quiet manner. The 
 dining-rooms were just half the size of the lower 
 room ; in the centre of these, two long tables were 
 placed : here the company in general sat ; but the sides 
 of the rooms were fitted up with boxes, so that small 
 parties or families who wished to dine by themselves 
 could be accommodated ; these boxes, however, in con- 
 sequence of the social disposition of the inhabitants, 
 were seldom resorted to. Individuals or families could 
 dine in their own apartments at any hour in the day, 
 by giving notice at the public halls in the morning. 
 The rooms were lofty, with circular ceilings, and in 
 each were suspended two magnificent chandeliers 
 of exquisitely cut glass, which in winter were lighted 
 with gas, producing a splendid effect ; the pannels 
 of the rooms were fawn-colour with gold beading, and 
 the curtains of a rich crimson, tastefully disposed in 
 festoons with deep fringe. The roof was entirely of 
 oak, and carved in imitation of the richest Gothic fret- 
 work. The dinner, though only of one course, consisted 
 of a variety of dishes that were most in season. The 
 choicest fruits formed the dessert. There were wines 
 and liqueurs of various kinds, contained in a large re- 
 cess or cupboard with folding doors ; they were, how- 
 
TFiE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 179 
 
 ever, but seldom asked for. The glass in use was cu- 
 riously cut ; and the earthenware was brought to such 
 great perfection as to be superior to that of the Chi- 
 nese, particularly some large vases which decorated 
 the sides of the room. Between the windows were 
 slabs of the finest marble, supported by bronze figures : 
 upon these marbles were placed large vessels of gold ^, 
 filled with spring water ; and at each corner of the 
 room was a marble figure holding a Roman lamp sus- 
 pended by a chain. During the dinner some favourite 
 airs were played by a band of music in the galleries. 
 The repasts were prepared and arranged by boys and 
 Sfirls between the aoes of ten and fifteen, who after- 
 
 * We often hear the phrase of " man in a state of nature " 
 made use of, by which is meant, a state of ignorance and desti- 
 tution, a condition very little above that " of the brutes that 
 perish ;" but it is as natural for man in the more advanced pe- 
 riods of the world, to make use of those articles which expe- 
 rience has taught him are most convenient, and at the same 
 time more pleasing to the sight, as it is natural for him in the 
 ruder stages of society to drink water out of shells and wooden 
 bowls. It is quite true that men rationally educated would 
 prefer the most simple utensils, if others, more gratifying to 
 their taste, could not be obtained without the sacrifice of valua- 
 ble time. But after the means have been discovered for pro- 
 ducing with facility a superfluity of wealth, the gold and silver 
 of Mexico and Peru may be procured in profusion at the most 
 insignificant cost, while the use being confined chiefly to public 
 
 N 2 
 
180 THE REVOLT OE THE BEES. 
 
 wards waited ; and from the number employed, 
 whatever was required, was obtained with the great- 
 est facihty. Saadi recognised many that he had 
 seen in the manufactories in their dress of business ; 
 now, they appeared differently attired. During the 
 dinner he took occasion to remark upon the splendour 
 of the room, and the richness and beauty of the de- 
 corations, and of every thing in use ; adding, that he 
 was the more surprised when he recurred to the 
 shght effort by which all had been accomplished. 
 
 Douglas. — " You perceive that every individual 
 is interested in calling forth particular talent, as all 
 derive gratification from the result, and it has always 
 been considered useful to render the public rooms as 
 attractive as possible." 
 
 ornaments, tlie desire for them would probably be circum- 
 scribed. 
 
 " But if nature is only opposed to art, in what situation of 
 the human race are the footsteps of art unknown ? In the con- 
 dition of the savage, as well as in that of the citizen, are many 
 proofs of human invention ; and in either is not any permanent 
 station, but a mere stage through which this travelling being is 
 destined to pass. If the palace be unnatural, the cottage is so 
 no less ; and the highest refinements of political and moral ap- 
 prehension are not more artificial in their kind, than the first 
 operations of sentiment and reason." — Ferguson on Civil So- 
 ciety. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 181 
 
 Saadi. — " How delightful to behold so many 
 happy countenances, — it could almost be imagined 
 that each was the sole possessor of all that surrounds 
 him." 
 
 Douglas, — " Is not that remark somewhat at 
 variance with your observation of last night, — that 
 your rich nobles betrayed anxiety in their coun- 
 tenances ? " 
 
 Saadi. — " I acknowledge my error ; but in Persia 
 we are so apt to connect the idea of happiness with 
 large possessions, notwithstanding disquietude is 
 their general concomitant, that you must excuse an 
 unguarded expression." 
 
 Douglas. — " I believe there is nothing that would 
 detract more from the happiness of all present, than 
 the idea that a single member of the community was 
 precluded by avoidable causes from an equal partici- 
 pation in all their enjoyments. So far from exclusive 
 possession adding to happiness, under the old system 
 it generally impaired the pleasures to be derived from 
 the things possessed. Does this glass, so ingeniously 
 cut, shine with less brilliancy in my eyes, because 
 others are furnished with one of equal beauty ? or 
 do those statues, executed by our best sculptors 
 with so much character and life, exhibit less ex- 
 pression because they are exposed to the view of 
 
182 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the whole community'*? The paintings in our gal- 
 leries, as also those in the temple, vying with the 
 productions of the most celebrated masters, lose 
 none of their attractions by being the joint property 
 of the society. On the contrary, the pleasures they 
 yield are multiplied by the number of cultivated minds 
 capable of appreciating their beauties, and of ex- 
 pressing in appropriate language their feelings of ad- 
 miration." 
 
 Saudi. — " The paintings and curiosities belonging 
 to our Persian nobles are seldom seen by others ; 
 nor do they themselves derive much gratification 
 from them after the novelty has worn off, when they 
 
 ^ " Though only few possess 
 
 Patrician treasures or imperial state; 
 Yet Nature's care, to all her children just, 
 With richer treasures, and an ampler state, 
 Endows at large whatever happy man 
 Will deign to use them. His the city's pomp, 
 The rural honours his. Whate'er adorns 
 The princely dome, the column and the arch, 
 Beyond the proud possessor's narrow claim, 
 His tuneful breast enjoys. For him the Spring 
 Distills her dews, and from the silken gem 
 Its lucid leaves unfolds : for him the hand 
 Of Autumn tinges every fertile branch 
 With blooming gold and blushes like the morn." 
 
 Ahenside. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 183 
 
 begin to sigh for some new addition to their cabinet. 
 For as to the satisfaction they experience in beincr 
 the only possessors of a rarity, it is far outweighed 
 by the jealousy excited by rival collectors; and 
 besides, it supplants in the mind the pleasure which 
 the excellence of the object itself would otherwise 
 impart. This effect of individual property I have 
 noticed in the proprietorship of land. Frequently 
 when directing the attention of a wealthy satrap to 
 a picturesque landscape, he has appeared insensible 
 to the natural beauties of the scene, and his mind has 
 been absorbed in estimating what addition a certain 
 portion of it would make to his annual income *^." 
 
 •= How feelingly is this truth expressed by Walton :-- 
 " I sat down under a willow-tree by the water-side, and con- 
 sidered what you had told me, of the owner of that pleasant 
 meadow, in which you then left me ; that he had a plentiful 
 estate, and not a heart to think so ; that he had at this time 
 many law-suits depending, and that they both damped his mirth, 
 and took up so much of his time and thoughts, that he himself 
 had not leisure to take the sweet content that I, who pretended 
 no title to them, took in his fields ; for I could there sit quietly, 
 and looking on the water, see some fishes sport themselves in 
 the silver streams, others leaping at flies of several shapes and 
 colours : looking on the hills, I could behold them spotted with 
 woods and groves : looking down the meadows could here see 
 a boy gathering lilies, there a girl cropping culverkeys and 
 cowslips, all to make garlands suitable to this present month of 
 May." 
 
184 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Douglas. — " Neither the most wealthy satrap of 
 Persia, nor even the king himself, can enjoy a tithe 
 of the advantages that I derive from a residence in 
 this community. All my wants are readily supplied ; 
 and I have access to libraries, museums, concerts, 
 groves and gardens, superior to those which any 
 private fortune, however ample, could command. I 
 possess all the benefits of almost unbounded wealth, 
 without any of its cares and anxieties. For, instead 
 of a train of ignorant, servile, and rapacious fol- 
 lowers, or a numerous retinue of disorderly or dissi- 
 pated servants to control, I am surrounded by in- 
 telligent and aflfectionate friends, united to me and 
 to each other by an interchange of kind offices and 
 by mutual sympathy. When I assert that my situ- 
 ation is far, very far, superior in every respect to that 
 of the most potent monarch in the past history of 
 mankind, I utter a truth which is felt, and may with 
 equal propriety be expressed of himself, by each 
 member of our community." 
 
 Saadi. — " I perceive that the wealth of the In- 
 dies under the Competitive System could not obtain 
 for its possessor the enjoyments I have witnessed 
 here. The want of equals between whom there is an 
 identity of interest, is another privation to which our 
 nobles are subject ; and this absence of sympathy is 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 185 
 
 alone sufficient to render wealth unproductive of 
 happiness. And with all your advantages, you are 
 never assailed by the cries of poverty and distress, 
 the never-failing attendant of conflicting interests. — 
 But what do you say, Margaret, to the comparative 
 pleasures of females under the two systems ? " 
 
 Margaret. — " The education of females, under 
 the old system, was perhaps more neglected, or in- 
 judiciously directed, than that of men, from a false 
 idea that their mental capabilities were inferior ; but 
 I believe that, notwithstanding this neglect, they were 
 more successful in acquiring taste for the substan- 
 tial enjoyments of domestic life. Certainly our plea- 
 sures are now considerably heightened ; since we also 
 have been taught to set a proper value upon all the 
 endearments of family society, and are rendered ca- 
 pable of deriving amusement from scientific and 
 other intellectual pursuits. It would be utterly im- 
 possible to induce any of the parents in our com- 
 munities to allow their children to be educated under 
 any other system." 
 
 The number in each room was about three hun- 
 dred : there was another similar building on the op- 
 posite side of the square, where the same number 
 were accommodated. The dinner, and conversation 
 succeeding it, generally terminated in less than two 
 
186 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 hours ; but at that time the rooms were cleared, and 
 the afternoon in fine weather was spent in riding 
 and walking, and other exercises and amusements in 
 the open air : but if the day was throughout unfa- 
 vourable, the members resorted to the riding-houses, 
 museums and libraries ; and in the evening to the 
 ball, concert, and lecture-rooms, as well as to the 
 large hall for philosophical experiments, which was 
 a favourite resort. 
 
 After the dinner was over, Margaret went to at- 
 tend an appointment with some other females in the 
 concert-rooms, while Saadi and Douglas visited the 
 various places of instruction and amusement in suc- 
 cession. But Saadi, whether from the reflections 
 springing up in his mind in consequence of the 
 day's conversation, or from his attachment to read- 
 ing, devoted more time to the libraries, which con- 
 sisted of two large rooms, surrounded by books and 
 maps. In one, conversation was permitted, — in the 
 other, it was not. The members were allowed, 
 under certain regulations, to take books to their pri- 
 vate apartments. A number of reading-stands and 
 tables were placed in different parts of the rooms, 
 which were fitted up in the most convenient manner. 
 The books were printed with uncommon clearness, 
 and were principally bound in russia. Indeed what- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 187 
 
 ever was found in the communities was the best of 
 its kind, as there existed no motive to deteriorate, 
 but to give beauty and durability to their produc- 
 tions. Saadi was dehghted with the engravings, 
 which were the most highly finished that can be 
 imagined. Each room had a dome rising from the 
 centre, and from which hung a large globe of ground 
 glass — the one terrestrial, the other celestial ; the 
 geographical delineations and the constellations were 
 painted with uncommon beauty : at night, lamps were 
 introduced into these globes, which with other small 
 and elegant lamps in different parts of the rooms 
 yielded a mild but ample light. On one side of the 
 library was suspended the " Stream of Time," exe- 
 cuted in a superior manner upon a large scale ; and 
 on the opposite side was a chart of the same size, 
 called the " Stream of Knowledge," representing a 
 river rising from the upper part, and gradually widen- 
 ing as it descended. A number of small tributary 
 streams at various distances discharged themselves 
 into the river, and these streams denoted the indivi- 
 duals who at different periods of the world had con- 
 tributed to the increase and extension of knowledge : 
 the names most conspicuous were those of Aristotle, 
 Archimedes, Galen, Plato, Hippocrates, Bacon, Ga- 
 
188 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 lileo, Locke, Newton, &c. In a small room adjoin- 
 ing there were some old books printed during the 
 Competitive Age, and retained as works of reference, 
 and to show mankind the misery from which they 
 had emerged, and to guard them against future error. 
 After some time liad been devoted to the general li- 
 braries, they entered this room : and as Douglas was 
 anxious to leave no means of contrasting the two sy- 
 stems untried, he invited Saadi's attention to a short 
 detail of the last efforts of the reformists and advo- 
 cates of the Competitive System. 
 
 Douglas. — " About the period of the dissolution 
 of opposing confederacies and the union of indivi- 
 dual interests, the government of the country was 
 directed by ministers who were extremely popular. 
 From their tried integrity and zeal in the public 
 service they deservedly possessed the confidence of 
 the country. So far as the Competitive System 
 would allow them, they were enlightened in their 
 policy and liberal in their sentiments ; and indeed 
 they appear in a great degree to have caught the 
 spirit of the age in which they lived. In several 
 instances they had themselves become reformers of 
 abuses : but their situation was one of great per- 
 plexity, arising from the complicated and conflicting 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 189 
 
 interests and views of different parties ^. Were they 
 urged and disposed to abolish negro slavery, up rose 
 the West India merchant to claim protection for his 
 estates. Was the emancipation of the Catholics 
 
 ^ " Are not the mental energies of the world at this moment 
 in a state of high effervescence ? Is not society at a stand, in- 
 competent to proceed in its present course, and do not all men 
 cry out that ' something must be done ? ' That ' something' 
 to produce the effect desired, must be a complete renovation of 
 the whole social compact ; one not forced on prematurely, by 
 confusion and violence ; not one to be brought about by the fu- 
 tile measures of the Radicals, Whigs, or Tories, of Britain, — 
 the Liberals, or Royalists of France, — the Hluminati of Germany, 
 or the mere party proceedings of any little local portion of hu- 
 man beings, trained as they have hitherto been, in almost every 
 kind of error, and without any true knowledge of themselves. 
 No ! The change sought for, must be preceded b}' the clear 
 development of a great and universal principle, which shall unite 
 in one all the petty jarring interests by which, till now, human 
 nature has been made a most inveterate enemy to itself. No ! 
 extensive, nay, rather, universal as the re-arrangement of society 
 must be, to relieve it from the difficulties with which it is now 
 overwhelmed, it will be effected in peace and quietness, with 
 the good will and hearty concurrence of all parties, and of every 
 people. It will necessarily commence by common consent, on 
 account of its advantages, almost simultaneously among all ci' 
 vilized nations ; and, once begun, will daily advance with an ac- 
 celerating ratio, unopposed, and bearing down before it the exist- 
 ing systems of the world. The only astonishment then will be 
 that such systems could so long have existed." — Mr. Ozoen's 
 Report to the County of Lanark. 
 
190 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 proposed, immediately a cry was raised that the 
 Church was in danger. Did they advocate a free 
 trade, manufacturers complained that they would be 
 undersold unless the corn laws were repealed : — and if 
 they attempted to alter those very laws, the landholders 
 interposed to prevent a reduction in their rents. The 
 plea of vested rights was always brought forward to 
 retard the progress of truth and justice, which, how- 
 ever, advanced more rapidly, and contested the claims 
 of ancient prescription with greater success, as know- 
 ledge became more widely diffused. The Govern- 
 ment resigned itself to the guidance of the Political 
 Economists, who, although they advocated some new 
 and useful opinions in commercial affairs, were too 
 confined in their views reo;ardino- some of the most 
 important objects of human society. They adhered 
 with remarkable tenacity to the equivocal advantages 
 of individual competition, to which they justly at- 
 tributed whatever good had been previously disco- 
 vered. They did not pretend to deny existing evils ; 
 but because competition had given birth to certain 
 energies and characters, they would not condescend 
 to inquire whether mutual co-operation was not likely 
 to be more " fertile in every great and good qualifi- 
 cation." By an able and profound contemporary 
 writer they w ere denominated the " Mechanical Spe- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 101 
 
 culators ; " for they regarded the bulk of mankind 
 as doomed to interminable labour, and concluded that 
 their intellectual powers were not to be called into 
 action, or exerted but in a very limited degree. 
 
 When Philosophy appeared to Boethius, to offer 
 him consolation, she related that Socrates triumphed 
 over death, to which he was unjustly adjudged, she 
 standing by. him and assisting him. " Of whose in- 
 heritance (his opinions and doctrines)," she adds, 
 " when the rout of the Epicureans and Stoics, and 
 several of the other sects, snatched a part, as every 
 one pleased ; and I still opposing myself to them, and 
 striving against them ; they with one consent fell upon 
 me, as if I had been a part of their prey, and tore this 
 garment, which I had woven with my own hands. 
 Then every one going away with that rag which he 
 had snatched, vainly believed that he had possessed 
 himself of Philosophy, and her whole treasure." Si- 
 milar to this appears to have been the conduct of the 
 various reformers at the close of the Competitive Age. 
 The Theologians denounced all attempts at moral 
 improvement unaided by their peculiar creeds. The 
 Moral Philosopher excluded from his considerations 
 all but the influence of precepts. And the Political 
 Economist regarded the bulk of mankind only as 
 instruments for the creation of wealth. Of the mu- 
 
192 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 tilated garment of Philosophy, these political eco- 
 nomists certainly picked up the worst rag they could 
 find^. Philosophers in former ages had indulged in 
 the anticipation of the final triumph of truth and 
 virtue over error and vice ; but during the previous 
 century, extraordinary progress had been made in 
 
 * Never had a philosopher greater reason to congratulate him- 
 self upon the steady adherence of his disciples, than Mr. Malt- 
 hus. Although, as it has been remarked, every new edition of 
 his Essay has chased away some of his old opinions, — whatever 
 new position he may take up, and whatever facts may be brought 
 forward to prove the inutility of his speculations, he is still sur- 
 rounded by that illustrious band the Political Economists. These 
 gentlemen, so anxious to instruct the labourers in " the Prin- 
 ciple of Population," should prevail upon Mr. INIaltlius to reduce 
 the price of his book to a level with plebeian pockets. Thirty- 
 six shillings for three volumes is rather incompatible with the 
 philanthropic disposition of the Author, and the zeal of his fol- 
 lowers. We have never read this Essay without being forcibly re- 
 minded of the following noteof Dr. Purvis, relative to Mr. Malt- 
 hus : " This Author, I am called upon to say, though he makes 
 general observations of the boldest kind, and with the most de- 
 cisive tone, contrives for the most part, when he enters upon the 
 detail, so to limit them or explain them away, that it is difficult 
 to ascertain what is really his opinion." — Gray versus Malthns, 
 by Dr. Purvis. 
 
 lIo%vever humane the intentions of Mr. Malthus may be, it is 
 impossible to mention any author, \hetendency of whose writings 
 has contributed more to reconcile the opulent to injustice, and 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 193 
 
 the knowledge of the nature of man, and in the science 
 of social happiness. Indeed, so closely did many of 
 the theories approximate to our present form of so- 
 ciety, and so correct were some of the general prin- 
 ciples, that it was expected another generation would 
 perfect the science. 
 
 " Such were the sanguine hopes of mankind when 
 
 to retard the progress of truth. As this phantom of over-po- 
 pulation cannot much longer deter us from the correction of 
 real evils, so will it fly before succeeding generations : but should 
 it ever assume a more palpable form, posterity will have acquired 
 a higher degree of intelligence, and will therefore not be more 
 deficient in foresight and superior moral qualities to guard 
 against its evils. 
 
 Lord Liverpool has stated a curious fact to allay the fears of 
 the Malthusians. " Between the year 1801 and the year 1811, 
 there was an increase in the population of Great Britain, from 
 10,900,000 to 12,390,000 souls, — being an increase in the pro- 
 portion of 14 per cent. And again : that between the year 1811 
 and the year 1821, there was an increase from 12,590,000 to 
 14,370,000; being an increase in the proportion of about 17|- 
 per cent." — Speech of Lord Liverpool on Agricultural Distress, 
 February 26, 1822. 
 
 Now it is rather unlucky for " the theory formed in a closet," 
 that in the year 1800, there was great distress from the scarcity 
 of provisions, as compared with the population ; but in 1822 , 
 when the population had increased from eleven to fourteen mil- 
 lions, there was great distress in consequence of the superabun- 
 dance of provisions ! This is " population pressing against sub- 
 sistence"!! 
 
194 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 a clergyman of the Church of England, the Reverend 
 Mr. Malthus, put forth an " Essay on the Principle 
 of Population/' to prove that the numbers of man- 
 kind had a tendency to increase geometrically, and 
 food arithmetically, so that too rapid an increase in 
 population was checked either by vice and misery 
 arising from want, or by moral restraint. Now al- 
 though every individual could produce much more 
 than he consumed, — proving that until no unculti- 
 vated spot could be found, subsistence would not only 
 keep pace with, but oversupply the demand, and that 
 moral or prudential restraint, if really necessary, was 
 much more likely to be observed in the improved state 
 of society contemplated, — yet this population-theoiy 
 was considered as a death-blow to the speculations 
 of the divine Plato, of More, Sidney, Godwin, Dugald 
 Stewart, &c. &c. The Political Economists wor- 
 shipped at the shrine of Mr. Malthus, who had in 
 their estimation dissipated the fond expectations of 
 a better order of society : and all their reasoning pro- 
 ceeded upon this presumption, — that the division of 
 mankind into the rich and the poor, the idle and the 
 industrious, would terminate only with their existence. 
 Such appeared to be the opinions of Ricardo, Mill, 
 and M'CuUoch. Here is a small work from which 
 I will read you a specimen. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 195 
 
 " ' Unfortunately, the labourers have very little power 
 over the increase or diminution of the national capital, but 
 they are all-powerful in respect to the increase or diminu- 
 tion of the supply of labour. And if they had only good 
 sense and intelligence sufficient to avail themselves of this 
 power, they might, by understocking the market with la- 
 bour, render their wages high, notwithstanding the demand 
 for their services should happen to be diminished ; while 
 if they do not avail themselves of this power, but allow the 
 principle of population to exert its natural tendency to 
 overstock the market with labour, wages will be low, to 
 whatever extent the demand for labour may be increased. 
 It appears, therefore, that the lower classes are in a very 
 great degree the arbiters of their own fortune. What others 
 can do for them is really, to use Mr. Malthus's words, but 
 as the dust of the balance compared with what they can 
 do for themselves ^' " — M^Culloch's Discourse on Political 
 Economy, 2nd edition, p. 62. 
 
 ^ With a becoming diffidence in perfect accordance with the 
 mutability of his opinions, if not with the boldness of some of 
 his assertions, Mr. Mai thus at the conclusion of the third vo- 
 lume observes : " But I shall always be quite ready to blot out 
 any part of the work which is considered by a competent tribu- 
 nal as having a tendency to prevent the bow from becoming 
 finally straight, and to impede the progress of truth." Secure in 
 the suffrages of the Political Economists, to what other tribunal 
 will he condescend to submit his Protean volumes ? But per- 
 haps his misrepresentations are already fled, for another edition 
 is announced in two volumes only ; but alas, still twelve shil- 
 lings each ! The working classes, in addition to their other pri- 
 vations, must remain unenlightened by the sage councils of Mr. 
 Malthus ; for in consequence of the number of early and im- 
 
 o 2 
 
196 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Saadi. — " Then it would appear, that these Poh- 
 tical Economists expected the labourers to act with 
 a degree of foresight and regard to the general wel- 
 fare of their class, to make present sacrifices for a 
 distant good, and to exhibit a conduct derived 
 only from a superior education and comprehensive 
 views ? " 
 
 Douglas. — " And yet the same author observes : 
 
 " ' Where wealth has not been amassed, the mind be- 
 ing constantly occupied in providing for the immediate 
 wants of the body, no time is left for its culture ; and the 
 views, sentiments, and feelings of the people, become alike 
 contracted, selfish, and illiberal. The possession of a de- 
 cent competence, or the being able to indulge in other 
 pursuits than those which directly tend to satisfy our ani- 
 mal wants and desires, is necessary to soften tlie selfish 
 passions, to improve the moral and intellectual character, 
 and to ensure any considerable proficiency in liberal stu- 
 dies and pursuits.' " — M'Culloch, page 3. 
 
 SaadL — " But if Mr. M'Culloch expected the 
 labourer to be one day in possession of this * decent 
 competence,' so as to acquire enlarged views, it 
 
 provident marriages during the last generation, when the lec- 
 tures of the Political Economists had not commenced, labour 
 has been so much reduced in value, that they are compelled to 
 wait for the next edition, which it is hoped will be comprised in 
 one very small duodecimo volume! 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 197 
 
 would be his first inquiry, — why, as his labour was 
 the source of all wealth, he was to enjoy only one- 
 sixth of its produce. He would next inquire, — why 
 one or two thousand of his own class could not unite 
 under your system, and consume or exchange all the 
 produce of their own labour, over and above what 
 might be necessary to pay the rent of their land, and 
 the interest of the money advanced, but which could 
 be repaid in a very few years, and the land ultimately 
 purchased. They would say. We will no longer, like 
 sheep and cattle, be subject to the fluctuating de- 
 mands of a market : and as all capital is but accu- 
 mulated stock, every year will add to our riches, so 
 long as a desire for producing surplus wealth may 
 prevail ; and if our numbers increase, we can with 
 ease create a sufficient surplus capital for the purposes 
 of colonization 5." 
 
 ^ After an examination of the various systems of equality of 
 Condorcet, Wallace, Godwin, and Owen, through sixty-six pages 
 Mr. Malthus triumphantly remarks, " The impossibility of 
 checkinjj the rate of increase in a state of equality, without re- 
 sorting to regulations that are unnatural, immoral or cruel, 
 forms an argument at once conclusive against every such sy- 
 stem." He then commences the following chapter in these 
 words : " Although the resource of emigration seems to be ex- 
 cluded from such perfect societies as the advocates of equality 
 generally contemplate. . . " And does it " seem to be excluded," 
 
198 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Douglas. — " Excellently repeated, my friend. 
 You are already well qualified to advance the good 
 cause on your return to Persia. The Political Eco- 
 nomists appear to have overlooked the vast acces- 
 sion to our productive powers, during the previous 
 
 to any one but to Mr. Malthus ? who, seeing it was a natural 
 resource that would at once refute his sophistry, carefully avoid- 
 ed throughout his criticism any allusion to emigration. If Plato 
 in his Republic, which he confined to a limited circumference, 
 suggested means for restricting population that were " unnatu- 
 ral and cruel," why must other systems of equality necessarily 
 adopt the same means ? But we will venture to say, and we are 
 borne out by facts, that systems of equality are the only consti- 
 tutions of society in which we can be certain that " the moral 
 restraint," if necessary, can be generally adopted. At this time 
 there is a society called the Shakers, in America, who do not 
 marry, but live together as members of one family. And the 
 same principles prevail in the society of the Harmonists : " Har- 
 mony is truly the abode of peace and industry. The society, 
 however, possesses one principle of so unsocial and dispiriting 
 a character as to throw a shade over the whole scene in a mo- 
 ral sense, and to fill the mind with commiseration for men who 
 can so construe any of the precepts of Christianity into a virtual 
 prohibition of the sacred ties of the married state." After these 
 proofs that the passions can be altogether subdued by education, 
 and early imbibed opinions however absurd, can there remain 
 any doubt of the possibility of their appropriate regulation in 
 societies composed of men of superior intellectual attainments ? 
 Happy, indeed, would it have been for mankind, if all the the- 
 ories which Mr. Malthus has " formed in a closet" had remain- 
 ed there. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 199 
 
 half century : hence they adhered to certain maxims 
 laid down by an able writer, Adam Smith, whose work 
 appeared at a time when mechanism had made compa- 
 ratively but little progress in aid or in substitution 
 of human labour. The great work of this author, 
 ' An Enquiry into the Nature and the Causes of the 
 Wealth of Nations,' was limited to inquiries regard- 
 ing the creation of wealth, without embracing the 
 more comprehensive views of its distribution, and 
 moral effects. But at the commencement of the 
 present century, inquiries into that branch of the 
 subject were unnecessary, as sufficient knowledge 
 had for a time been acquired, and wealth in super- 
 fluity abounded. The question which the Political 
 Economists at this period should have solved, was, 
 ' In what manner the abundant wealth which was 
 created with so much facility, could be most bene- 
 ficially distributed.' I am not at all surprised to 
 find the Political Economists complaining of the 
 little regard that was paid to them, after the few who 
 had investigated their theories were so dissatisfied 
 with the result. The student in other sciences was 
 finally rewarded for his laborious attention, by an ac- 
 cession of wisdom and of new sources of pleasure ; 
 but the Political Economists led through a tedious la- 
 byrinth their ill-fated votary, who, when he thought 
 
200 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 that he had reached the promised land, beheld before 
 him a trackless and barren waste — 
 
 " * Here, where no springs in murmurs break away, 
 Or moss-crown'd fountains mitigate tiie day, 
 In vain ye hope the dear delights to know, 
 Which plains more blest, or verdant vales bestow.' " 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Genius has seen thee in her passionate dreams ; 
 And dim forebodings of thy loveliness, 
 Haunting the human breast, have there entwined 
 Those rooted hopes of some sweet place of bliss 
 Where friends and lovers meet to part no more." 
 
 Shelley. 
 
 On the following morning the heavy clouds had 
 passed away, and the atmosphere was serene and 
 clear. The fields and hanging-woods shone with a 
 more vivid green, and the dazzling radiance of the 
 rising sun called forth all the beauties of the sur- 
 rounding scenery ; while the birds singing in full 
 chorus seemed to hail the return of the glorious 
 sun-beams. Such were the attractions that in- 
 vited Saadi to quit his rooms at an earlier hour 
 than usual. The observations of Douglas and Mar- 
 garet on the preceding morning, had convinced him 
 that the principles of the communities were not ini- 
 mical to true religion^, and his mind had regained 
 
 * " Is it possible, in the nature of things, that men can pos- 
 sess the ability to perform any other real service for that great 
 
202 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 its wonted serenity. As he walked along the bor- 
 ders of the lake enjoying the freshness of the morn- 
 ing breeze, he felt his spirits unusually exhilarated. 
 " How inexpressibly endeared to me," he exclaimed, 
 *' are the persons with whom I have formed an ac- 
 quaintance in these intelligent societies ; seeking 
 to apply the bountiful gifts of Providence to the pro- 
 motion of each other's happiness ! Never can I re- 
 turn to Persia unattended by a chosen band from 
 the borders of Loch Lomond, to assist in rearing this 
 long-sought temple of felicity." 
 
 Saadi insensibly bent his course towards the pub- 
 lic baths, which were fronted with a long raised ter- 
 race, covered with a viranda, and having rustic seats 
 and cane sofas. As he entered upon the terrace, 
 he observed a tall venerable man in a plaid cloak, 
 sitting in deep reflection ; his hair was white as 
 snow, and though his countenance was furrowed by 
 age, animation still sparkled in his eye. Saadi soon 
 recognized in him the Elder who had delivered the 
 lecture on the Human Character. At the approach 
 
 and incomprehensible Power which animates and directs the 
 universe, than to contribute to the utmost of his faculties, to 
 the happiness, especially of all those, his fellow beings, whom 
 that Power has brought into existence ? " — Mr. Oioens Lctler to 
 the Editor of the Glasgow C/ironicle, Nov. 2, 1823. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 203 
 
 of Saadi, the Elder started from his reverie, and in- 
 vited him to a seat. His first inquiry was what he 
 thought of their communities. 
 
 Saadi, having expressed in glowing terms the plea- 
 sures he had experienced, begged permission to refer 
 to his lecture, acknowledging that he had since be- 
 come a convert to the opinion — that " the character 
 is formed for and not by the individual." " But," 
 he added, " I have often heard it objected to those 
 enlarged views of benevolence inculcated in your 
 communities, that they are too apt to overlook the 
 claims of kindred, and to be wanting in sympathy 
 towards those objects near at hand : but certainly 
 what I have witnessed since my arrival is at variance 
 with that opinion." 
 
 " The decisions," replied the Elder, " of literary 
 and speculative men unaided by practical know- 
 ledge^, for a long period held mankind in bondage ; 
 
 *" The science of human nature, or rather that of social union, 
 has experienced the fate which Lord Bacon describes, as the 
 treatment the sciences in general have met with. " Those who 
 have treated the sciences were either empirics or rationalists. 
 The empirics, like ants, only lay up stores, and use them ; the 
 rationalists, like spiders, spin webs out of themselves ; but the 
 bee takes a middle course, gathering her matter from the flowers 
 of the field and garden, and digesting and preparing it by her 
 native powers. In like manner, that is the true office and work 
 
204 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 and it is remarkable, that after Lord Bacon had dis- 
 covered the unerring path of inductive reasoning in 
 physics, the world should have been so long per- 
 plexed with delusive theories of education and social 
 improvement. — Our great moral poet has justly ob- 
 served, 
 
 " * Self-love but serves the virtuous mind to wake, 
 As the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake ; 
 The centre moved, a circle straight succeeds, 
 Another still, and still another spreads ; 
 Friend, parent, neighbour, first it will embrace ; 
 His country next, and next all human race :' 
 
 " The expansive benevolence imbibed under our 
 system regards every object, present or remote, that 
 can be benefited by its sympathies ; as yon glorious 
 luminary, while it invigorates the hardy oak and the 
 lofty pine of the mountain, cherishes the lovely violet 
 that blooms in solitude. This feeling, interwoven 
 with our earliest associations and strengthened by ha- 
 
 of philosophy, which, not trusting too much to the faculties of 
 the mind, does not lay up the matter afforded by natural history 
 and mechanical experience, entire or unfashioned, in the me- 
 mory, but treasures it, after being first elaborated and digested 
 in the understanding; and therefore we have a good ground of 
 hope, from the close and strict union of the experimental and 
 rational faculty, which have not hitherto been united." — Lord 
 Bacon s Novum Organum. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 205 
 
 bit, soon becomes the source of the most refined and 
 exquisite pleasures : but it is a feeling not depend- 
 ing solely upon extraordinary culture for its deve- 
 lopment, for even in the age of conflicting interests, 
 and in the most barbarous periods, it was in some 
 degree manifested." 
 
 Saadi. — " I must, however, acknowledge that 
 those in Persia who are most devoted to the public 
 welfare, too frequently sacrifice their own interests, 
 and the welfare of their famihes." 
 
 The Elder.—" That is very likely ; for so nume- 
 rous are the difficulties and dangers arising from the 
 selfishness, fraud and duphcity of the Competitive 
 System, that the utmost vigilance is required on the 
 part of each head of a family, to protect his depend- 
 ants, and to procure for them the necessaries of life. 
 If his mind be enlarged by benevolence, and he is 
 struck with the contemplation of evils flowing from 
 imperfect institutions, he will be apt to neglect that 
 family, to devote himself to the more extended sphere 
 of usefulness <=. We have numerous instances in the 
 biographical history of this country, of patriots and 
 
 <= Fenelon was accustomed to say, " I love my family better 
 than myself; my country better than my family ; and mankind 
 better than my country :_for I am more a Frenchman than a 
 Fenelon, and more a man than a Frenchman." 
 
206 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 men of ardent minds dedicated to the welfare of their 
 species, themselves experiencing great privation and 
 distress. It was the characteristic of Competitive so- 
 ciety to generate a collision not only of individual, 
 but also of collective interests. Private considera- 
 tions would frequently interfere with the claims of 
 patriotism ; and this subdivision of benevolence 
 called patriotism, was generally opposed to the prin- 
 ciples of universal benevolence. In Co-operative so- 
 ciety all these interests are amalgamated. This I 
 will in part illustrate in my own case. — My favourite 
 study is education, the improvement of which is in- 
 teresting to my country, and to the world at large ; 
 but my family have not been neglected by this 
 pursuit of an object of universal interest ; they have, 
 in common with the rest of society, participated in the 
 benefit of all useful discoveries, and in the mean time 
 have been supported out of the public store. Neither 
 has my affection for them in any degree been dimi- 
 nished by an ardent desire to promote the general 
 welfare of mankind ; rather has it been increased by 
 the solicitude they express for the successful result 
 of my efforts : — it is ' not that I loved Csesar less, 
 but that I loved Rome more.' " 
 
 Saadi. — " But how can the interests of distant 
 countries be identified with yours?" 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 207 
 
 The Elder. — " Because it is the reciprocal in- 
 terest of all countries that each should be governed 
 by those principles which will promote with facility 
 the production of the largest portion of staple com- 
 modities, in order that as much of them should be 
 distributed in exchange as may be necessary for all ; 
 and the regulations that will effect this object are such 
 as are most conducive to the happiness of individual 
 communities^ . The pleasures of sympathy are also 
 heightened to those who visit foreign countries where 
 correct principles are acted upon, in meeting with an 
 intelligent and friendly people. Time was, when the 
 inhabitants of this country were eager to restore in- 
 dependence to the Greeks ; while their own citizens 
 were experiencing, under the name of freedom, the 
 worst evils of despotism in the monopoly of wealth." 
 
 Saadi. — " Blame them not for those exalted sym- 
 pathies ; — who would not have been emulous to fight 
 
 ^ " Foreign or domestic improvements in machinery will be 
 to such a Community, as they ought to be to all the world, a 
 blessing to the utmost extent. The prosperity of foreign na- 
 tions, and their improvement in every respect, will be to such a 
 Community a source of sincere congratulation and joy, affording 
 also by immediate imitation the means of domestic improve- 
 ment, or lowering the cost, and thus increasing the supply, of 
 such foreign produce as may be useful articles of exchange." 
 — Prospectus of the Cork Co-operative Community. 
 
208 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 in the ranks of men animated by the remembrance 
 of their ancient glory, and strugghng for their dear- 
 est Uberties ! '* 
 
 The Elder. — " I censure them not for a conduct 
 which was the necessary result of the age in which 
 they lived, but I revert to that period as exhibiting 
 the consequences of misapplied zeal. In those days 
 there dwelt in the heart of our metropolis a multi- 
 tude of people in the lowest state of mental degra- 
 dation, destitute of the common necessaries of life, 
 clothed in rags, and occupying miserable houses in 
 crowded and dirty lanes. Under these distressing 
 circumstances were their children trained, whose ca- 
 reer was almost unavoidably one of crime, terminating 
 in a prison, or hastened by an ignominious death. 
 Immediately adjoining this scene of human wretched- 
 ness (which was called St. Giles's) were erected, in 
 airy and spacious squares, houses and palaces of 
 great magnificence. They were inhabited by men 
 of immense riches, who were in the enjoyment of 
 every luxury. Now these individuals sympathized 
 in the fate of the Greeks." 
 
 Saadi. — " But still they could not have been un- 
 mindful of their destitute neighbours, for whom it 
 must have been most fortunate that such an abun- 
 dance of wealth was near at hand ? " 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 209 
 
 The Elder. — " They occasionally relieved them 
 through the medium of others, for never could they 
 come in contact with scenes that would offend the 
 eye : hence they were deterred from any near ap- 
 proach. But when the cause of the Greeks sprano- 
 up, an object of benevolence presented itself, wholly 
 divested of the unsightly and repulsive attendants 
 upon abject poverty, and associated with all the 
 charms of literature and of imagination. There was, 
 however, this important difference in the dispensa- 
 tion of their bounty, that to the Greeks it might prove 
 unavailing, if it ever reached them ; whereas, had it 
 been administered at home, it would have been di- 
 rected under their own immediate observation." 
 
 Saadi. — " But we must not be surprised that men 
 of education should feel a deep interest in the de- 
 scendants of a people so renowned for warlike skill 
 and for the arts of peace, or that they should wish to 
 revive those institutions which had so long claimed 
 the admiration of the world, and on a spot endeared 
 to philosophy and eloquence." 
 
 The Elder. — " Are philosophy, eloquence, and 
 the fine arts to be cultivated only in particular coun- 
 tries ? If so, let the nations which have once enjoyed 
 those blessings, now in justice yield to others. But 
 it was not the Parian marble only which the hand 
 
 V 
 
210 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 of a Phidias could have started into life ; and if hu- 
 man nature is every where endowed with the same 
 original qualities, to be moulded according to the 
 design of the legislator, the general principles of the 
 best institutions must be applicable in every quarter 
 of the globe ^. What could have proved more inter- 
 esting than to have raised the tottering houses in 
 that retreat of misery, and to have beheld rising in 
 
 ^ " Compare the national character of each community with 
 the laws and customs by which they are respectively governed, 
 and, without an exception, the one will be found the archetype 
 of the other. 
 
 " Where, in former ages, the laws and customs established by 
 Lycurgus formed man into a model for martial exploits, and a 
 perfect instrument for war ; he is now trained, by other laws and 
 customs, to be the instrument of a despotism which renders him 
 almost or altogether unfit for war. And where the laws and 
 customs of Athens trained the young mind to acquire as high a 
 degree of partial rationality as the history of preceding times 
 records ; man is now reduced, by a total change of laws and 
 customs, to the lowest state of mental degradation. Also where, 
 formerly, the superior native American tribes roamed fearlessly 
 through their trackless forests, uniformly exhibiting the hardy, 
 penetrating, elevated, and sincere character, which was at a 
 loss to comprehend how a rational being could desire to possess 
 more than his nature could enjoy ; now, on the very same soil, 
 in the same climate, characters are formed under laws and cus- 
 toms so opposite, that all their bodily and mental faculties are 
 individually exerted to obtain, if possible, ten thousand times 
 more than any man can enjoy." — Owen's Essays, p. 136. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 211 
 
 their stead an illustrious community, peopled with 
 those inhabitants and children then in training' for 
 the worst purposes, and thus to have given them cha- 
 racters far transcending those of the ancient Greeks !" 
 
 Saadi. — " But would you not have been satisfied 
 with the inflexible justice of an Aristides, the pro- 
 found wisdom of a Solon, or the refined taste of a 
 Pericles?" 
 
 The Elder. — " Those are the distinguished cha- 
 racters which should have re-appeared ; not in the 
 midst of an Athenian rabble, prepared upon the 
 slightest occasions to sacrifice their best friends and 
 their most valuable citizens ^, but among an enlight- 
 ened people, not one of which should have been in- 
 capable of justly appreciating their sublime virtues. 
 Nor should the arts and sciences have been held in 
 less estimation : and sculpture would have rivalled 
 the noblest relics of antiquity : for even in the pur- 
 lieus of that most degraded spot might have been 
 
 ''" The ostracism of the Greeks was a sacrifice of vahiable men 
 made to epidemic envy, and often apphed as an infallible remedy 
 to cure and prevent the mischiefs of popular spleen and rancour. 
 A victim of state often appeases the murmurs of a whole nation, 
 and after-ages frequently wonder at barbarities of this nature, 
 which under the same circumstances they would have committed 
 themselves." — Mandevilk. 
 
 p2 
 
212 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 discovered minds ^ to conceive and hands to execute, 
 if the national governors had possessed the faculty 
 of calling them into action." 
 
 Saadi. — " Since my arrival, my companion Doug- 
 las has shown me the opinions of some of the in- 
 fluential characters of that period, upon a modifica- 
 tion of your present system ; and I could not but ex- 
 press my surprise at their unwillingness to make so 
 interesting an experiment. The proposal originated 
 in the distresses of Ireland, and is contained in the 
 * Report of a Committee.' " 
 
 The Elder. — " I remember that singular produc- 
 tion : but it was one to be expected from those who 
 considered it their duty to guard against innovation''. 
 
 f " But knowledge to their eyes her ample page, 
 Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll ; 
 Chill penury repress'd their noble rage, 
 And froze the genial current of the soul." — Gi-ay. 
 ^ " If men, during ages of extensive reflection, and employed 
 in the search of improvement, are wedded to their institutions ; 
 and, labouring under many acknowledged inconveniences, can- 
 not break loose from the trammels of custom ; what shall we 
 suppose their humour to have been in the times of Romulus 
 and Lycurgus ? They were not surely more disposed to embrace 
 the schemes of innovators, or to shake off the impressions of 
 habit : they were not more pliant and ductile, when their know- 
 ledge was less ; not more capable of refinement, when their 
 minds were more circumscribed."— Fergwson on Civil Society. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 213 
 
 and more especially an innovation which they falsely 
 imagined would lead to consequences detrimental to 
 their own interests. To submit such a proposition 
 to their decision was something; like sending: the 
 physician who had written in dispraise of apple tarts, 
 to be tried before a tribunal composed of children. 
 There were, however, some members of the govern- 
 ment who had not given a very decided opinion 
 upon the proposed scheme ; and it was thought that 
 they would have been disposed to make an experi- 
 ment, if their colleagues in office had not been un- 
 willing. There must have been some circumstances 
 with which we are not acquainted, that prevented 
 the distinct avowal of their sentiments." 
 
 Saadi. — " But is the histoiy of those times silent 
 upon that point ? " 
 
 The Elder. — " The intense interest that was al- 
 most universally excited by the change which speedily 
 followed, so occupied the minds of men, that the re- 
 cord of trifling circumstances was not attended to." 
 
 Saadi. — " But scanty as the materials of your 
 history at that period may have been, I presume it 
 must be known what were the sentiments of the king, 
 — is it supposed that he was disinclined to the mea- 
 sure ? " 
 
 The Elder. — " So far as the character of the kins: 
 
214 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 was known, he would have derived the most heart- 
 felt pleasure from the adoption of any plans calcu- 
 lated to improve the condition of his people ' ; for it 
 appears that upon all occasions he endeavoured to 
 conciliate his subjects. No sooner was it intimated 
 that a visit to this part of the island, and to Ireland, 
 would gratify the inhabitants of the two kingdoms, 
 than he made preparations to depart, when state af- 
 fairs would permit. And at a period when the funds 
 arising from benevolent subscriptions for the re- 
 lief of the distressed manufacturers were nearly ex- 
 hausted, munificent donations from the king were 
 sent to their relief. But with regard to any general 
 system of policy, whether foreign or domestic, the 
 Ministers were responsible : and as they had con- 
 cluded that the scheme was visionary, they were pre- 
 vented from detecting their mistakes by further in- 
 quiry ; and thus the country was for some time de- 
 prived of the only practical measure that could esta- 
 blish permanent and general prosperity." 
 
 At this moment Douglas arrived. "You have," said 
 
 ' For the spontaneous utterance of the genuine and noble 
 sentiments of the king, we must refer to his address upon 
 landing on the shores of Ireland. — " Rank, station, honours, 
 are nothing; but to feel that I live in the hearts of my sub- 
 jects is to mc the most exalted happiness." 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 215 
 
 he, addressing himself to Saadi, after bowing re- 
 spectfully to the Elder, " quitted your rooms at an 
 earlier hour than usual this morning ; I have been 
 seeking you in various directions, for I have nev^^s 
 to tell you. A telegraphic communication announces 
 the approach of about five hundred individuals from 
 distant communities, — they come to visit those who 
 have lately returned from Batavia. They will arrive 
 about mid-day, and the afternoon will be spent in 
 various amusements, which, if the day should con- 
 tinue favourable, will be chiefly in the open air. This 
 fine morning can be devoted to the botanic and flower 
 gardens, as also to the museums." — " And do not 
 omit," said the Elder, " to show our young friend the 
 curious Arabian illuminated Koran in the Oriental 
 cabinet." 
 
 Douglas and Saadi took their leave : and as they 
 returned to the hall to breakfast, Douglas observed 
 that the reverend old man they had j ust parted with 
 was Henry Mackenzie, the grandfather of Maro-aret. 
 " If there is any difference," said he, " in the ardour 
 with which we seek the extension of our system, the 
 feelings of the venerable Mackenzie are more in- 
 tensely engaged in that important object. He has 
 profoundly studied the human mind, and he is gene- 
 rally appealed to upon any difficulty by metaphysical 
 students." 
 
216 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 After breakfast the two friends proceeded to the 
 gardens ; — they were inclosed by thick and lofty 
 hedges of white-thorn, which sheltered them from 
 the cold winds : the hot-houses were extensive and 
 complete ; the gardens were subdivided by dwarf 
 hedges of laurel. A number of girls and boys were 
 busily engaged, the latter with their barrows and 
 spades. The surrounding vegetation was highly 
 luxuriant. In one of the flower-gardens they found 
 Margaret Mackenzie with a few of her companions, 
 occupied in the care of some rose-trees. " What 
 pursuit," observed Saadi to her, " can yield more 
 pleasure than the one in which you are engaged, 
 promoting the growth of the tree, until your care is 
 rewarded by the beautiful development of the full- 
 blown flower?" — " Interesting as this occupation is," 
 replied Margaret, " its gratifications fall far short of 
 those which the cultivation of the infant mind af- 
 fords J. With all our care we cannot produce a 
 flower of surprising or inimitable beauty; we know 
 the utmost boundary of our efforts : but in cultiva- 
 ting the rising generation, we are conscious of the 
 
 J " To aid thy mind's development, — to watch 
 Thy dawn of little joys, — to sit and see 
 Almost thy very growth, — to view thee catch 
 Knowledge of objects, — wonders yet to thee ! " 
 
 Lord Byron. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 217 
 
 power of forming minds superior to those that have 
 gone before, as every age adds something to the ac- 
 cumulation of knowledge ; and the hope of applying 
 this power with success animates us in all our endea- 
 vours '^. Nor is there a more interesting or curious 
 process in nature, than the operations which the mind 
 displays, from the early dawn of reason to its gradual 
 advancement, and in the full expansion of its powers." 
 Saadi. — " And yet one of your poets, in depicting 
 the pleasures arising from the various objects in na- 
 ture, describes them as considerably heightened by 
 the absence of man himself. 
 
 " ' There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, 
 There is a rapture on the lonely shore, 
 There is society, where none intrudes, 
 By the deep sea, and music in its roar : 
 T love not man the less, but nature more, 
 From these our interviews, in which I steal 
 From all I may be, or have been before, 
 To mingle with the universe, and feel 
 
 What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.' " 
 
 Lord Byron, 
 
 ^ " Perhaps there is no higher proof of the excellency of man 
 than this, — that to a mind properly cultivated, whatever is 
 bounded is little. The mind is continually labouring to ad- 
 vance, step by step, through successive gradations of excellence, 
 towards perfection, which is dimly seen, at a great though not 
 
218 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Douglas. — " But where in the whole range of 
 the creation do we behold an object 'so wonderful, 
 so complicate' as man. Even as the ' paragon of ani- 
 mals/ he exhibits in the curious mechanism of the 
 eye, and in the faculty of hearing, a specimen of di- 
 vine workmanship : in common with others, he is 
 endued with senses which enable him to enjoy the 
 fruits of the earth and the freshness of the mountain 
 breeze, but he is the only being capable of contempla- 
 ting, and of taking delight in, the beauty and order of 
 the universe ; if the inlets of his knowledge are of them- 
 selves sufficient to excite our wonder and admiration, 
 how inimitable must be that faculty which enables him 
 to treasure up knowledge for the guidance of his future 
 conduct, and to transmit the inestimable riches of 
 the mind to succeeding ages : — yet this is the being, 
 * a little lower than the angels,' whom the poet would 
 exclude from his description of the beauties of nature, 
 the only object that could impart intelligence and ad- 
 ditional interest to his scene. But the poet was right ; 
 
 hopeless distance, and which we must always follow because we 
 never can attain; but the pursuit rewards itself; one trutli 
 teaches another, and our store is always increasing, though na- 
 ture can never be exhausted." — Sir Joshua Reynolds : 9t/i Dis- 
 course. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 219 
 
 for in his days, institutions the offspring of ignorance 
 had marred the fairest work in the creation. 
 
 " By way of antithesis to your stanza, allow me 
 to repeat an extract in prose from a contemporary 
 author. 
 
 " ' Man in a state of simplicity, uncorrupted by the in- 
 fluence of bad education, bad examples, and bad govern- 
 ment, possesses a taste for all that is good and beautiful. 
 He is capable of a degree of moral and intellectual improve- 
 ment, which advances his nature to a participation with 
 the divine. The world, in all its magnificence, appears 
 to him one vast theatre, richly adorned and illuminated, 
 into which he is freely admitted, to enjoy the glorious spec- 
 tacle. Acknowledging no natural superior but the great 
 Architect of the whole fabric, he partakes the delight with 
 conscious dignity, and glows with gratitude. Pleased with 
 himself and all around him, his heart dilates with benevo- 
 lence, as well as piety ; and he finds his joys augmented 
 by communication. His countenance cheerful, his mien 
 erect, he rejoices in existence. Life is a continual feast to 
 him, highly seasoned by virtue, by liberty, by mutual af- 
 fection. God formed him to be happy, and he becomes so, 
 thus fortunately unmolested by false policy and oppression. 
 Religion, reason, nature, are his guides through the whole 
 of his existence, and the whole is happy. Virtuous inde- 
 pendence, the sun which irradiates the morning of his day, 
 and warms its noon, tinges the serene evening with every 
 beautiful variety of colour, and on the pillow of religious 
 hope he sinks to repose in the bosom of Providence.' " 
 
 Br. Knox. 
 
 Saadi. — " I know not in what quarter of the globe 
 
220 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the author could in his day have found man in that 
 state of superior civilization he has so beautifully de- 
 scribed, — he must have anticipated the formation of 
 your communities. I certainly could not have ex- 
 pected either from my experience or reading, to have 
 discovered Societies so free from crime, and in the 
 enjoyment of so much happiness as yours." 
 
 Margaret. — " Probably you had not investigated 
 the subject with much attention, or you would have 
 perceived that the causes of crime were generally in- 
 herent in the constitution of societies. By observing 
 what crimes were peculiar to each society, or to each 
 class in a society, the causes could be easily traced. 
 All history, from the creation of the world to the pre- 
 sent period, has proved that the character is formed 
 by the united influence of domestic, national, and 
 other circumstances acting upon the disposition im- 
 parted by nature to the individual." 
 
 Douglas. — " In Persia, you would deem us all 
 profound metaphysicians : but we do not build upon 
 mere conjecture regarding mind ; for the most im- 
 portant facts in this branch of philosophy lie as open 
 to common observation where interest is excited, as 
 the most obvious laws of nature' ". 
 
 ' " Physical and mathematical truths," says Dr. Beattie,"are 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 221 
 
 After visiting the various gardens, museums, and 
 theatres of anatomy, they returned to their respective 
 apartments. When the sound of the bugle announced 
 the hour of dining, Saadi repaired to the hall. The 
 visitors on reaching Loch Lomond had divided into 
 parties of fifty each, in order to be conveniently ac- 
 commodated at the different communities. There 
 were thirty in the dining-room ; but the visitors v^^ere 
 all separated, and each was seated near those who 
 had been long absent. The dinner over, the inhabi- 
 tants and their friends began to assemble on the bor- 
 ders of the lake, and upon the islands, as they were 
 attracted by the different diversions. The amuse- 
 ments were of a nature likely to interest strangers, 
 being of a local character. There were several sail- 
 ing and rowing matches, with a splendid regatta. 
 In the narrow part of the lake, and not far from Rob 
 Roy's Cave, a band of music was stationed a short 
 distance up the mountain, and another upon the side 
 of a hill on the opposite shore ; these bands played 
 alternately, and sometimes together, or responsive to 
 each other. All the communities about the Loch 
 
 often abstruse ; but facts and experiments relating to the human 
 mind, when expressed in proper words, ought to be obvious to 
 all." — Introduction to Essay on Truth, 
 
222 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 participated in the festivities, which were chiefly 
 confined to the upper part of the Loch. Near Tar- 
 bert there was erected an Oval in imitation of the 
 Cohseum at Rome, but upon a smaller scale, with 
 benches for about two thousand persons ; upon these 
 the elders were seated, to see the young people dance 
 in the area, which was a fine turf surrounded by a 
 border of flowers, bounded by dwarf shrubs. The 
 numerous assemblage of cheerful individuals taste- 
 fully attired, of superior manners, together with the 
 vessels decorated with colours, and the bands of mu- 
 sic at different stations, all contributed to render the 
 scene highly brilliant, and surpassing any thing of 
 the kind that Saadi had ever before witnessed. As 
 the sun declined, the music played an air commen- 
 cing, " Low sinks the Orb of Day," accompanied by 
 innumerable voices ; sometimes the voices of females 
 only, then of boys, and afterwards of men, while all 
 appeared to feel the most lively interest in the scene. 
 The leader of the band took a conspicuous station, 
 and with his signal the most exact time was pre- 
 served. The effect of the grandeur of the scenery 
 gilded by the rays of the setting sun, was heightened 
 by the harmonious voices of a happy people, in whom 
 Saadi had become warmly interested. For half an 
 hour after the sun had gone down the company 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 223 
 
 promenaded in the colonnades and groves, when 
 there was a brilliant display of fireworks. Upon one 
 of the islands there was a small wooden structure, in 
 imitation of a temple, erected for the occasion ; it 
 was illuminated with gas in glasses of various co- 
 lours. At nine o'clock the concerts and balls com- 
 menced, and lasted till eleven. — On his return, Saadi 
 found that his two faithful attendants had been be- 
 fore him : they had trimmed his lamp and prepared 
 his coffee, notwithstanding they appeared fatigued 
 with the exertions of the day. Saadi recommended 
 them to retire to rest. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 '' Welcome, ye marshy heaths ! ye pathless woods, 
 Where the rude native rests his wearied frame 
 Beneath the sheltering shade ; where when the storm. 
 As rough and bleak it rolls along the sky, 
 Benumbs his naked limbs, he flies to seek 
 The dripping shelter. Welcome, ye wild plains 
 Unbroken by the plough, undelved by hand 
 Of patient rustic." — Southey. 
 
 1 HE festivities of the preceding day did not interrupt 
 the customary pursuits of the communities ; but Saadi . 
 wishing to indulge himself in his occasional retire- 
 ment, spent the chief part of the morning in straying 
 among the mountains, with a volume of poems in his 
 hand, containing, with other of his favourite pieces, 
 " Clifton Grove" by Kirk White. — Douglas saw him 
 about mid-day sitting under a branching oak, and 
 watching the gambols of a herd of deer in the valley 
 beneath. He waited his descent, when he invited 
 him to a beautiful alcove close to the margin of the 
 water, and by the side of a mountain stream that fell 
 over a jutting rock into the lake. This was a fa- 
 vourite resort of Margaret Mackenzie, and it was in- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 225 
 
 <iebted to her elegant taste for its chief embeUish- 
 ments. A mirror with a frame formed of sliells fronting 
 the entrance, reflected the opposite mountains and 
 the boats as they passed ; over the mirror was a small 
 marble tablet with the following inscription ; 
 
 -" Gaze, stranger, here ! 
 
 And let thy soften'd lieart intensely feel 
 How good, how lovely, Nature !" 
 
 There were other poetical extracts inscribed on 
 boards encircled with wreaths of flowers beautifully 
 painted, some half-concealed by the jessamine that 
 spread itself luxuriantly around the interior of the 
 alcove. The entrance was a rustic portal covered 
 with ivy ; while the mignionette on each side, and a 
 stand of flowers in the centre, yielded a most deli- 
 cious fragrance. — " What have you there ? " in- 
 quired Saadi, seeing that Douglas held a large scroll 
 in his hand. 
 
 Douglas.—" Two letters supposed to have been 
 written by a youth in London, who had been sent 
 there with a deputation from Manchester, during the 
 year 1826, to inquire what relief was in contempla- 
 tion for the distressed manufacturers. It is how- 
 ever in the same hand-writing as the manuscript at 
 the end of the Report of the Irish Committee : and 
 as the narrative is equally at variance in many re- 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 spects with the character of those times, it is pro- 
 bable that with some truth a considerable portion of 
 fiction is blended. — Allusion is made to the Report 
 of an Emigration Committee, which is not extant, 
 but its object may be learnt from the letters them- 
 selves." 
 
 Saadi. — " Believe me, Douglas, I was not very 
 anxious to hear more of these Reports of Committees, 
 but I must confess the subject awakens my curiosity. 
 — Emigration as the means of relief! why I thought 
 their miseries arose from possessing too much? 
 When the Grecian colony was led forth by Miltiades 
 to the Golden Chersonesus, they went to seek a 
 greater extent of territory, their own being insuffi- 
 cient for the supply of their wants. If there is time 
 before the bugle announces the dinner hour, I should 
 be happy to hear it." 
 
 Douglas. — " On the back of the scroll is written 
 as follows : — * Charles Wansford, the son of poor 
 parents, weavers at Bradford, evinced such precocity 
 of talent, that at the age of sixteen he was sent with 
 a deputation from the artisans to London, to ascer- 
 tain what measures were in progress for the relief of 
 the unemployed.' The manuscript contains two letters 
 addressed by him to his brother Henry, disclosing 
 some particulars in the history of that period." 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 227 
 
 LETTER I. 
 Charles Wansford to his brother Henri/. 
 
 The melancholy errand that brought me hitlier 
 has prevented my noticing except in a slight man- 
 ner the magnificence of this great metropolis : 
 but I am so overwhelmed with anxiety for the di- 
 stresses of our dear parents, that I can scarcely al- 
 low myself a moment's relief in the contemplation of 
 any other object. Indeed our condition is truly pi- 
 tiable 'y — to behold an industrious family in vain seek- 
 ing employment ; a father and mother hastening 
 to a premature grave, and their children languishing 
 for food without any prospect of relief, although we 
 are told there is plenty in the land, — are reflections too 
 afflicting for the stoutest heart to bear. — You remem- 
 ber, Henry, that dreadful period before the London 
 Benevolent Society afforded us a seasonable relief, 
 when famine had almost approached our doors, we 
 were prevailed upon to attend a public meeting on 
 the Downs. With what horror did we shrink from the 
 insidious and wicked proposal of an appeal to arms. 
 We suspected at the time that those who would hava 
 instigated iis to the commission of crimes, the bare 
 mention of which chills me with horror, were ac- 
 tuated by motives widely different from those which 
 Q 2 
 
228 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 had drawn the wretclied sufferers to the spot. They 
 told us that the higher classes delighted in oppres- 
 sion, and that they were deaf to the cries of hunger 
 and distress. Since our arrival, we have had inter- 
 views with many influential persons, all anxiously 
 inquiring and seeking the means of relief ; and at no 
 period has so strong a desire been manifested by all 
 ranks to elevate the labourers in the scale of society. 
 But the different classes are so much unknown to 
 each other, that severe distress is not heard of even 
 in contiguous districts ; and the sufferers of Manches- 
 ter or even of London may be as unheeded as those 
 who are enduring the calamities of an earthquake in 
 the Caraccas. 
 
 Among the various remedies that have been 
 suggested, that of Emigration upon a large scale has 
 excited some attention. The publication of a Report 
 of the committee has created a strong sensation, and 
 led to remarkable events. Through the interest of 
 one of the county Members, our deputation was ad- 
 mitted into the House of Commons just as the mem- 
 bers of the Committee appeared at the bar by order 
 of the Speaker. He informed them, that " while 
 there was such abundance of food, he could perceive 
 no necessity for emigration ; but at a period of general 
 calamity he was not unwilling to tiy various experi- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 229 
 
 ments, if they were not attended with any material 
 sacrifices, and more especially as there might be some 
 portion of the community whose presence could be 
 dispensed with ;— he chiefly alluded to those who 
 with the best intentions had failed in being of any 
 essential service to their country : among those were 
 the Committee themselves ; and as they had bestowed 
 great attention on the advantages of emigration, and 
 were well apprised of its difficulties, they would be 
 better prepared than any other individuals to en- 
 counter danger." 
 
 It is impossible for me to convey an adequate idea 
 of the consternation and dismay that were depicted in 
 the countenances of the Committee. They replied, that 
 although they had recommended emigration, they 
 were influenced by the opinions of the Political Eco- 
 nomists. " If that be the case," rejoined the Speaker, 
 " they shall certainly accompany you. In the mean 
 time let them be called in." 
 
 The Political Economists entered with a remark- 
 able air of self-sufficiency and gaiety, and their 
 countenances displayed a singular contrast to the 
 downcast looks of the Committee. But when the de- 
 termination of the Speaker was made known to them, 
 they were no longer to be distinguished at a short 
 distance from their partners in distress. They in- 
 
230 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 formed the Speaker that " they were greatly sur- 
 prised and mortified to find that it was proposed they 
 should emigrate ; as they never contemplated such a 
 measure, except for those who were unemployed, and 
 not in possession of a ' decent competence.' They 
 feared that their motives had been misrepresented ; as 
 they had been exposed to much vulgar abuse, notwith- 
 standing they had long laboured for the public good, 
 in prosecuting their profound researches. They 
 therefore trusted that the Speaker would allow them 
 to remain at home, and dispatch those who were totally 
 destitute."— -The Speaker rose, and with a voice and 
 manner that reminded me of the descriptions we have 
 ead of a Roman senator, addressed them as follows : 
 " What unavailing complaints of persecution do I 
 hear ! They cannot be the voices of men whose minds 
 are congenial with those sublime spirits, devoted 
 even to the termination of their earthly existence in 
 conferring lasting benefits upon mankind ! those who 
 travelled many a weary pilgrimage in rescuing the 
 oppressed, or in administering succour to the af- 
 flicted ! or those who in proclaiming their valuable 
 discoveries in the sciences have been exposed to the 
 scoffs of interested prejudice, and to the contumely 
 and insults of pride and ignorance ! — nor can they 
 proceed from such as are animated by kindred 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 231 
 
 feelings with those immortal reformers, whose un- 
 shrinking integrity and unconquerable perseverance 
 triumphed over imprisonment, torture, and even death 
 itself, and at length silenced the thunders of the Va- 
 tican! These are the characters with whom you 
 can never hope to rank, until time and circumstances 
 have inspired you with the same zeal in the sacred 
 cause of truth, which you have hitherto displayed 
 in the propagation of error. You have propounded 
 theories flattering to the prejudices of the rich, but 
 which have consigned the people to endless and un- 
 requited toil, to starvation, or to banishment^; — your 
 crude theories have been worse than useless ; they 
 have driven from the land the only man capable of 
 restoring immediate prosperity to the country ; — him 
 you affected to esteem a visionary, while you murmur 
 at the epithets applied to your own conflicting opinions . 
 Diligently have I perused the arguments on both 
 sides ; and I must acknowledge that your reasoning 
 has been more unintelligible, and your expressions 
 less courteous, than those of your opponents. 
 
 * " It has been, and still is, a received opinion among theo- 
 rists in political economy, that man can provide better for him- 
 self, and more advantageously for the public, when left to his 
 own individual exertion, opposed to, and in competition with, 
 
232 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 " Never can we banish the producers of wealth. 
 On the contraiy, we will enable those who are desirous 
 of employment to supply their mutual wants ; — if you 
 must have emigration, let the idle consumers alone 
 depart from the land of their fathers. Have we not 
 from time immemorial endeavoured to instil into the 
 minds of the people a love of their country ? and if we 
 offer violence to their most interesting associations, 
 and dispatch them away, will they not reply with 
 the Canadian chiefs, who, when solicited to emigrate, 
 exclaimed, — *What! shall we say to the bones of 
 our fathers. Arise, and go with us into a foreign 
 land?' 
 
 his fellows, than when aided by any social arrangement, which 
 shall unite his interests individually and generally with society. 
 This principle of individual interest, opposed, as it is perpetually, 
 to the public good, is considered by the most celebrated politi- 
 cal economists, to be the corner-stone of the social system, and 
 without which, society could not subsist. — Yet when they shall 
 discover the wonderful effects, which combination and unity 
 can produce, they will acknowledge that the present arrange- 
 ment of society is the most antisocial, impolitic, and irrational, 
 tliat can be devised; that under its influence, all the superior 
 and valuable qualities of human nature are repressed from in- 
 fancy, and that the most unnatural means are used to bring out 
 the most injurious propensities : — in short, that the utmost pains 
 are taken to make that which by nature is the most delightful 
 compound for producing excellence and hapjiiness, absurd, im- 
 becile, and wretched." — Owen's Report to ilic County of Lanark. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 233 
 
 " The reasons which you ofter as an excuse for 
 your reniahiing in England, are with me the most 
 cogent for your departure : for with all the facilities 
 that can be afforded to emigrants, unforeseen diffi- 
 culties may arise ; and who so skilled to overcome 
 them, as those who have drunk deep at the fountains 
 of political wisdom ? or who so well armed with the 
 means of carrying their schemes into effect, as those 
 who are at least in possession of a ' decent compe- 
 tence V I will, however, offer you some advice and 
 local information regarding the countries to which 
 you are destined. 
 
 " Should the fears of a redundant population still 
 annoy you ; — should this hobgoblin pursue you across 
 the Atlantic, and you arrive breathless in the Shawnee 
 Country, there you will discover no grounds for alarm : 
 for in that thinly peopled continent, population (to 
 use one of your favourite sentences) may * go on 
 doubling' for many centuries to come; and besides, 
 so interminable are the forests of lofty trees and thick 
 underwood, that ages must elapse ere ' the supply of 
 labour can exceed the demand.' Each of you there- 
 fore may take unto himself a squaw, and cultivate 
 connubial bliss, fearless of the consequences either 
 to himself, to his immediate descendants, or even to 
 a remote posterity. 
 
234 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 " If you should be induced to travel towards the 
 south, you must proceed with the utmost caution, 
 for at every step you will be in danger of treading 
 upon a rattle-snake. — I am however happy to inform 
 you, that there is a remedy recently discovered for 
 this calamity, and which proves after a protracted 
 but painful illness an infallible cure for the severest 
 bite. — Among the extensive marshes, the draining of 
 which will yield you constant employment, swarms 
 of musquitos will assail you ; but, as philosophers 
 have observed, there is seldom an evil without its at- 
 tendant good, — the more yovi are tormented by these 
 pestiferous insects, the more protection you will re- 
 quire ; and thus increased activity will be given to the 
 gauze manufactories of the mother country. 
 
 " In those remote and desolate regions, when far 
 removed from the seductive allurements of society, 
 your minds will be abstracted, and you will view all 
 things with the single eye of truth. Alike subject 
 to those frailties of human nature which you deem 
 incurable, here you may have felt a latent and un- 
 conscious bias in favour of the higher classes ; — stars, 
 garters, and the glittering coronet, alas ! few can re- 
 sist : and even the claret and burgundy you have im- 
 bibed at the tables of the great, may have given to 
 your sentiments a tinge. But when the eye meets 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 235 
 
 nothing but the gloomy forest, or the cheerless va- 
 pours of dreary and unbounded marshes, — then will 
 you fall back upon your own resources ; and still 
 holding us in affectionate remembrance, you will 
 transmit the fruits of your deep musings and solitary 
 cogitations. 
 
 "As the first dawning of the sciences arose in Ara- 
 bia, and from thence passed to the westward through 
 Egypt and Greece, and we are now reflecting the light 
 of knowledge upon those who once deemed us barba- 
 rians ; so may Europe be destined to receive instruc- 
 tion from the Backwoods-men in the wilds of America. 
 
 "Preparatory to these achievements, — and as I am 
 informed that you have affected to despise some of the 
 most able productions of your opponents, which you 
 are unable to refute, or unwilling to investigate, — I re- 
 commend to your careful perusal, ' Owen's Essays on 
 the Formation of Character,' and ' Thompson's Distri- 
 bution of Wealth.' The judgement you may pass on 
 these works will enable the public to decide how far 
 you have emancipated yourselves from the character 
 given of you many years since by D'Israeh, and 
 which for your edification I will repeat. 
 
 " * Absorbed in the contemplation of material obj ects, 
 and rejecting whatever does not enter into their own 
 restricted notions o^ utility, these cold arithmetical 
 
236 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 seers, with nothing but miUions in their imaginations, 
 and whose choicest works of art are spinning-jennies, 
 have vahied the intellectual tasks of the library and 
 the studio by ' the demand and the supply.' 
 
 " * In their commercial, agricultural, and manufac- 
 turing view of human nature, addressing society by 
 its most pressing wants and its coarsest feelings, they 
 limit the moral and physical existence of man by 
 speculative tables of population. Planning and level- 
 ing society down in their carpentry of human nature, 
 they would yoke and harness the loftier spirits to 
 one common and vulgar destination. Man is con- 
 sidered only as he wheels on the wharf, or as he 
 spins in the factory. But man, as a recluse being of 
 meditation, or impelled to action by more generous 
 passions, has been struck out of the system of our 
 Political Economists ^.' 
 
 " I hope you will earnestly endeavour to profit by 
 these remarks, and henceforward consider man as des- 
 tined to act a more distinguished part than merely to 
 supply his animal desires, — that you will not display 
 so much laborious trifling in teaching us that which 
 has long been known ; for we require not to be in- 
 formed how to create wealth, — it exists in superfluity : 
 
 '' Disraeli on the Literary Character. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 237 
 
 instruct us rather how we can best apply it so as to 
 improve our moral and intellectual character." 
 
 A few days afterwards, while standing at the 
 window of my apartment, which is an attic at the 
 lower end of St. Martin's Court, I was surprised to 
 see a procession pass along the Strand to take water 
 at Hungerford Stairs. They proved to be the Political 
 Economists themselves, with a numerous body of 
 emigrants. The cavalcade was preceded by a gentle- 
 man in black: his hat was slouched over his eyes ; and 
 the brim, which was somewhat broad, appeared to have 
 been once fastened up in a clerical shape, but the loops 
 had given way, and left it doubtful whether the wearer 
 was still a clergyman or not : he held in his hand a 
 large manuscript, which he was perpetually altering ; 
 and I have since been informed by those who stood 
 near, that the words 'Principle of Population' was 
 conspicuous, and that there was an astonishing 
 number of corrections:— his countenance was melan- 
 choly, and betrayed symptoms of disappointment,— 
 "With broken lyre and cheek serenely pale, 
 Lo ! sad Alca?us wanders down the vale." 
 
 The Political Economists followed him at some di- 
 stance, but with reluctant step ; for they now regarded 
 him as the author of all their calamities, although 
 in the zenith of his fame they attended constantly^at 
 
238 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 his levees, and repeated his decisions to the wonder- 
 ing multitude as the oracles of wisdom ; little dream- 
 ing into what a labyrinth of error he would lead them. 
 At a short distance from the Economists there was 
 a numerous body of emigrants hastening away, 
 alarmed by the fears of a redundant population. The 
 individual at the head of the cavalcade, followed by 
 his disciples, and then the converts, had altogether 
 the appearance of the King ^, Lords and Commons 
 of the province of political economy. Although 
 their departure was considered as a happy release to 
 the country, and St. Martin's bells rang a muffled 
 yet merry peal, as if participating in the rejoicing 
 tempered by regret, I could not help repeating the lines 
 of Goldsmith as they descended Hungerford Stairs : 
 
 " Even now, methinks, as pondering here I stand, 
 I see the rural Virtues leave the land. 
 Down where yon anchoring vessel spreads the sail, 
 That idly waiting flaps with every gale, 
 Downward they move — a melancholy band, 
 Pass from the shore, and darken all the strand." 
 
 ' If the author of this alarming theory is to have a regal title, 
 he must certainly be designated the King of Terrors. His at- 
 tributes, however, will differ materially from those of the grim 
 monarch, who of human nature is forever increasing the de- 
 mand, as the efforts of the former are directed to a diminution 
 of the supply. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 239 
 
 I will send you an account of any plans we may 
 
 hear of that are likely to be of practical utility ; but 
 
 I am sorry to add that hitherto we have been quite 
 
 unsuccessful. — 
 
 Charles Wansford. 
 
 Saadi. — " They must have had a noble President 
 in those days. His power, however, was rather despotic, 
 and not much unlike that of our Oriental monarchs, 
 whose will is the law." 
 
 Douglas. — " This narrative cannot be true : but 
 that much distress prevailed in those times we have 
 abundant historical evidence. As the bugle is sound- 
 ing we must obey the summons." 
 
 Saadi. — " Most wilhngly, for my rambles on the 
 mountains have bestowed upon me a keen appetite. — 
 Bring the manuscript with you, for I am desirous of 
 knowing something more of Charles Wansford 's 
 visit." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "'Tishe alone, whose comprcliensive mind, 
 From situation, temper, soil, and clime, 
 Explored, a nation's various powers can bind. 
 And various orders, in one form sublime 
 Of polity, that midst the wrecks of time 
 Secure shall lift its head on high, nor fear 
 Th' assault of foreign or domestic crime." — Beattic. 
 
 1 HE dinner was no sooner over, than Saadi wished 
 to proceed with the manuscript. And Douglas pro- 
 posed their retiring to his private apartments, which 
 were across the lawn in front of the hall. Saadi 
 was highly pleased with the elegant simplicity with 
 which it was fitted up. — " Here," said Douglas, "my 
 privacy is just as sacred as if I occupied a house in 
 a society upon the individual system." 
 
 Saadi. — " And certainly you escape a world of 
 trouble in domestic cares." 
 
 Dousias. — " We will now turn to the second letter 
 of the youthful delegate." 
 
 LETTER II. 
 Charles Wansford to his brother Henry. 
 Since the departure of the Political Economists 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 241 
 
 the public mind has become more tranquil, and all 
 classes now begin to think for themselves. They are 
 no longer bewildered with discussions about a me- 
 tallic or a paper currency, taxes, supply and demand, 
 capital, and profits on stock, and a variety of subor- 
 dinate questions which had been the perpetual theme 
 of contention. They observe around them immense 
 wealth, with the power of adding to it almost inde- 
 finitely ; and they ask themselves, how can the country 
 be said to be over-peopled, and why should poverty 
 exist ? All had felt a lively interest in the questions 
 proposed, and had taken up opinions with more or 
 less tenacity, which it was necessary to relinquish, 
 before the mind could become the recipient of funda- 
 mental truths ; — they had something to unlearn, 
 before they could learn. But what, you will inquire, 
 was there to learn ? This question will be solved in 
 the relation of all that has transpired since my last 
 letter. 
 
 You will have perceived that the Speaker in his 
 address, alluded to some individual whom the Eco- 
 nomists had deemed a visionary, and who in conse- 
 quence of the preponderance of their opinions had 
 been compelled to relinquish the attempt to improve 
 the condition of the people, — and, like a second Co- 
 lumbus, to tender his services to a foreign country. 
 
 R 
 
242 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Upon inquiry, I found that this individual was Mr. 
 Robert Owen of New Lanark, who many years since 
 (before we were old enough to notice public occur- 
 rences) held several meetings in London, for the pur- 
 pose of explaining a new scheme of society, which 
 was at that time, and still is, deemed impracticable*. 
 At a late meeting between our deputation and the 
 silk-weavers of Spitalfields, numerous plans of reUef 
 were suggested, and among others, this scheme of 
 Mr. Owen's, — which appears to be a system of 
 equality, — was strenuously recommended by an in- 
 dividual whose name is Henry Neville. The meet- 
 ing in general without any hesitation condemned it, 
 and some indulged in ridicule. A few, however, pro- 
 mised to attend a committee which he said was to 
 be held at the Office of the " London Co-operative 
 Society" on the following evening. 
 
 * " It seems to be the fate of all originality of thinking to 
 be immediately opposed ; a contemporary is not prepared for 
 its comprehension, and too often cautiously avoids it, from the 
 prudential motive which turns away from a new and solitary 
 path. Bacon was not at all understood at home in his own day : 
 his reputation — for it was not celebrity — was confined to his hi- 
 story of Henry the Seventh, and his Essays : it was long after 
 his death before English writers ventured to quote Bacon as an 
 authority; and with equal simplicity and grandeur, Bacon called 
 liimself ' the servant of Posterity.'" — D' Israeli on the Literary 
 Character, 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 243 
 
 When Neville discovered that I was attached to 
 the Manchester deputation, he earnestly intreated 
 me to attend, and offered to accompany me thither. I 
 was somewhat interested by the remarkable zeal with 
 which he enforced his measure, although I concurred 
 with the rest, in thinking that the perversity of human 
 nature presented an insuperable obstacle to the 
 success of any plan of equal possessions. 
 
 On the following evening Henry Neville arrived an 
 hour before the appointed time, being desirous of 
 having some conversation with me previous to the 
 meeting. So agreeable was our ttte-a-tete that we 
 prolonged it until St. Martin's clock reminded us 
 that the hour had arrived when we should have joined 
 the society. The particulars of this conversation I 
 must however relate to you. — Having requested him 
 to favour me with the origin of the society, and of his 
 connexion with it, — as near as I can recollect he re- 
 plied in the following words. 
 
 "Two or three years previous to 1817, when Mr. 
 Owen held his first public meeting in London, I met 
 with his ' Essays on the Formation of the Human 
 Character.' I became impressed with the truths that 
 were there unfolded, and which to me were new. I 
 could not, however, perceive their practical applica- 
 tion : but when the principles of the * New View of 
 R 2 
 
244 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Society' were announced, I was enabled, by the pre- 
 vious perusal of that important introductory work, to 
 comprehend the grand outline and the harmony of 
 the System. 
 
 So clearly was the subject defined to my mind, that 
 I concluded the general principles would be obvious 
 to society at large, and that in the coming year we 
 should witness the commencement of a glorious aera. 
 Too soon were these sanguine hopes disappointed, 
 and I discovered that much time must elapse before 
 the preconceived opinions of mankind would yield to 
 the force of truth, however clearly demonstrated : — 
 but I must admit, that to this day the subject has 
 not been presented to the public in a condensed and 
 scientific form. Notwithstanding there is conside- 
 rable eloquence and energy in Mr. Owen's orations, 
 he appears to be deficient in that consecutive deve- 
 lopment of his system so necessary for the instruc- 
 tion of an audience, and more particularly of one 
 that has no prepossessions in its favour. For those 
 who will take some pains to inform themselves, there 
 is an ample store of useful knowledge, and all that is 
 requisite, to be found in his pubhshed works : but the 
 misfortune is, that there is a disinclination for in- 
 quiry to be overcome ; and this makes it the more 
 necessary that the path should be rendered smooth. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 245 
 
 and free from obstructions. Sometimes, indeed, he 
 begins with the first principles of the science ; but 
 after making some progress, he bounds off with an 
 enthusiasm which, to those who can participate in 
 his feehngs, is deUghtful. It is not, however, in this 
 way that a learner can be instructed. He must be 
 led on by measured steps, and feel secure and well 
 grounded at every advance ; — ' one link broken, the 
 whole chain is destroyed.' These rapturous flights, 
 however gratifying they may be, dazzle the imagina- 
 tion, and seldom will his pupil regain the point from 
 which he had deviated. Although I consider it abso- 
 lutely necessary that the System should be given to 
 the world in a connected and elementary form, di- 
 vested of all that is extraneous, I must confess that 
 for my own gratification I prefer the compositions of 
 Mr. Owen as they are, glowing with the anticipation 
 of general happiness in the speedy ascendancy of 
 truth. 
 
 " You would be delighted with his character. I 
 have been upon most of his committees, and attended 
 all his public meetings. With what unwearied pa- 
 tience has he explained the details of his plans to the 
 humblest individuals ! — with what calmness has he 
 endured the vulgarity of the ignorant, the ridicule of 
 the superficial, and the arrogance of the proud ! 
 When the tumultuous assembly was disturbed by the 
 
246 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 puny orators^ who, finding the System they came pur- 
 posely to oppose was invuhierable, turned their wea- 
 pons upon each other, he permitted the effusion of an- 
 gry feehng to subside, before he attempted to explain 
 a system that would reconcile all their differences. 
 
 " Displaying great circumspection upon all impor- 
 tant affairs of business, he has still, in the disposal of 
 the funds set apart for the promotion of the great 
 object of his life, been frequently imposed upon by 
 pretended zealots in the cause of humanity. But it is 
 not merely in the misapplication of money that these 
 characters have obstructed his progress ; often have 
 they driven from his aid men of ranic and influence. 
 You must not however imagine that he is, as I before 
 observed, wanting in prudence, in the arrangement 
 of affairs of consequence : it is only when engaged in 
 the promulgation of the * New Views' that he would 
 fain persuade himself that all men are, what he is 
 certain they can be made. Happy indeed shall we 
 be, when this irksome caution may be thrown aside ; 
 when we shall dwell in a community where no motive 
 to deceive will exist, and where * there shall be none 
 to make us afraid'." 
 
 The unreserved manner in which Henry Neville 
 addressed me, who comparatively speaking was a 
 stranger to him, raised my curiosity, and I endea- 
 voured to penetrate his character. As he appeared 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 247 
 
 to observe my surprise mingled with pleasure when I 
 thanked him for his frank and friendly communi- 
 cations, he took occasion to remark, that he always 
 derived gratification from an intercourse with those 
 who evinced an unprejudiced love of truth, and who 
 in a collision of opinions, sought to gain information 
 rather than a disingenuous triumph over an adversary. 
 " With such companions," said he, " who would not 
 prefer society to solitude ! But to be condemned to 
 listen to the various expedients of individuals to sup- 
 plant each other ; to congratulate one upon his ad- 
 vancement, which may have occasioned the op- 
 pression of hundreds ; to hear praise awarded where 
 there can be no merit, and to observe punishment 
 inflicted by those who, if there be any crime, are 
 themselves the most criminal, because the means of 
 prevention are under their controul**; — who would 
 
 '' " I think of those in this world's wilderness 
 Who wander on and find no home of rest, 
 Till to the grave they go ! then Poverty, 
 Hollow-eyed fiend, the child of Wealth and Power, 
 Bad offspring of worse parents, aye afflicts, 
 Cankering with her foul mildews the chill'd heart ; — 
 Them Want with scorpion scourge drives to the den 
 Of Guilt; — them Slaughter for the price of death 
 Throws to her raven brood. Oh, not on them, 
 God of eternal Justice ! not on them 
 Let fall thy thunder I — Soulhey. 
 
248 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 not rather fly from the contemplation of the miserable 
 policies of man, to enjoy in retirement those beau- 
 tiful scenes where Providence dispenses her gifts 
 with an unsparing and impartial hand ! I fear that 
 another generation must pass away before all shall 
 be fulfilled. In the mean time we must be content 
 to be misunderstood by the world, and to incur the 
 imputation of selfishness, even while all our efforts 
 are directed to the accumulation of means to build 
 up a system in which the desire for individual ex- 
 clusive possessions shall be for ever banished." 
 
 On arriving at the rooms of the society, we 
 found about forty members assembled, who were 
 chiefly engaged in reading the communications of 
 correspondents. As it was not one of the evenings 
 devoted to discussion, I had an opportunity of con- 
 versing with several of them. The object of this 
 society is to diffuse a knowledge of the principle 
 of co-operative communities, in contra-distinction 
 to that of the existing system of individual compe- 
 tition. There are already two practical experiments 
 going forward : one at New Harmony in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Indiana in America ; and another at 
 Orbiston, near Hamilton, in Scotland, where suit- 
 able buildings of some magnitude have been erected. 
 A prospectus has also been issued for the formation 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 249 
 
 of a community in the vicinity of Cork. Some of 
 the members regard these attempts as premature, 
 and are apprehensive that a failure might increase 
 the pubhc doubts of the efficacy of the principle ; 
 whereas inadequate means, both in money, and in a 
 knowledge of practice, on the part of the conduct- 
 ors, would be the sole cause of their want of success. 
 For, say they, the grand results we look forward to, 
 can be realized only by a community, the members 
 of which have been trained from infancy in correct 
 principles ; and the system must necessarily com- 
 mence under disadvantages, in consequence of the 
 acquired feelings and habits of mankind. We 
 should therefore avail ourselves of every facility which 
 pecuniary means can bring to our aid, and dispense 
 with none of the advantages of comprehensive and 
 complete arrangements. 
 
 I observed upon one of the tables the Report 
 of the Emigration Committee ; and at the suggestion 
 of Henry Neville I extracted the following opening 
 paragraph. 
 
 " There are extensive districts in Ireland, and districts 
 in England and Scotland, where the population is redun- 
 dant; in other words, where there exist a very considerable 
 proportion of able-bodied and active labourers, beyond the 
 number to which any existing demand for labour can af- 
 ford employment : — That the effect of this redundancy is 
 
250 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 not only to reduce a part of this population to a great de- 
 gree of destitution and misery, but also to deteriorate the 
 general condition of the labouring classes : — That by its 
 producing a supply of labour in excess as compared with 
 the demand, the wages of labour are necessarily reduced 
 to a minimum which is utterly insufficient to supply that 
 population with those means of support and subsistence 
 which are necessary to secure a healthy and satisfactory 
 condition of the community : — That in England, this re- 
 dundant population has been in part supported by a pa- 
 rochial rate, which, accorduig to the reports and evidence 
 of former Committees specially appointed to consider the 
 subject, threatens in its extreme tendency to absorb the 
 whole rental of the country ; and that in Ireland, where 
 no such parochial rate exists by law, and where the redun- 
 dancy is found in a still greater degree, a considerable part 
 of the population is dependent for the means of support on 
 tlie precarious source of charity, or is compelled to resort to 
 habits of plunder and spoliation Jbr the actual means of sub- 
 sistence'* 
 
 '* There," said Neville, after I had finished tran- 
 scribing the passage, " you observe that the members 
 of the committee, — those who enact laws for the 
 punishment of robbery and theft, — proclaim to the 
 world that men are compelled to live by ' plunder and 
 spoliation.' But certainly truth is at last making some 
 progress. The redundancy is not considered in re- 
 lation to the quantity of food, but to the means of 
 procuring it, — to the existing demand for labour ; in 
 other words, to the institutions of the country. But 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 251 
 
 whenever a redundancy appeared, and from whatever 
 cause, the disciples of Mr. Malthus pointed to it as 
 an irresistible proof of their sagacity. Here," said he, 
 "in the last number of the Quarterly Review, the cause 
 is referred to : — this you must also transcribe." 
 
 " The various machinery now used in manufacturing 
 cotton has enabled one man to perform the work of 150. 
 Now the lowest computation supposes 280,000 men, — 
 some say 35.0,000 men, — to be employed in it. Hence the 
 work now performed in this single branch, would, half a 
 century ago, have required 42,000,000 of men, — according 
 to some, 53,000,000 ; that is to say, at the lowest compu- 
 tation, more than twice as many men, women, or children 
 as now people the British Island." 
 
 " At this period," proceeded Neville, " there is 
 scarcely any branch of manufacture or any employ- 
 ment, not excepting even the management of ves- 
 sels, in which manual labour is not superseded by 
 machinery. That the political economists, who will 
 soon be cultivating ' land of the first quality' in a re- 
 mote region, should have beheld the continued in- 
 crease in this enormous addition to the supply of 
 labour, and yet expect that the working classes 
 could accommodate the supply to the demand, is 
 sufficient to account for their numerous inconsist- 
 encies, or, as they have been denominated by one 
 
252 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 who was himself considered of the fraternity, 'Their 
 little nostrums and big blunders'." 
 
 I am much inchned to think that the plans re- 
 commended by this society are the only remedy 
 adequate to the magnitude of our difficulties ; and I 
 will in a few days furnish you with some papers 
 which will explain more fully the general principles 
 as well as the details of the projected communities. 
 
 Charles Wansford. 
 
 After the perusal of the manuscript Saadi retired 
 for the purpose of writing to Almured, as a vessel 
 was on the point of sailing from Greenock. Before 
 the hour of rest was arrived, he had completed the 
 following letter. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " The friends of reason, and the guides of youth, 
 Whose language breathed the eloquence of truth; 
 Whose life beyond preceptive wisdom taught 
 
 The great in conduct and the pure in thought ; 
 
 These still exist." — Rogers. 
 
 Saadi to Almured. 
 
 Rejoice, my revered friend, — rejoice, Almured, 
 for soon shall Persia be happy under the benignity of 
 your councils. Often have I Hstened with scepticism 
 to your descriptions of the future happiness of man, 
 when his changing policies should be superseded by 
 the invariable principles of science ; but now I have 
 ceased to wonder at your enthusiasm, and I look back 
 with surprise at my own ignorance, when observing 
 the simplicity of the regulations by which these 
 societies are governed. 
 
 The letter I addressed to you within two days 
 of my arrival, conveyed an account of the external 
 appearance and local situation of the Communities ; 
 but as you will be anxious to learn the character of 
 the inhabitants in general, I will now briefly state the 
 result of my observations after a few weeks residence. 
 I confess with shame, that so little attention had I 
 
254 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 devoted to this interesting subject, tliat whenever 
 a community upon a system of equal property was 
 mentioned, I always pictured to myself some fanati- 
 cal or religious society, such as that of the Shakers, 
 and Moravians, where peculiar doctrines must neces- 
 sarily prevail, as an indispensable bond of union : 
 judge then how great was my surprise to find, in- 
 stead of a people contracted in their views, a race of 
 men of benevolent and liberal sentiments, of manners 
 elegant, — highly intellectual, and of noble aspect. 
 
 The stranger on his first arrival, is struck with 
 the solidity and splendour of the edifices, the luxuri- 
 ance of the fields, gardens, and parks, the profusion 
 of the products of foreign commerce, and of do- 
 mestic industry ; at the same time remarking the 
 small portion of time in which the inhabitants are 
 productively occupied. In a few days, however, 
 he discovers the secret, in tlie judicious appliance of 
 every talent or power, physical or mental, both indi- 
 vidually and collectively. As the diminutive ants 
 by their united efforts remove in a few hours the 
 enormous weight from their citadel, so do the inha- 
 bitants accomplish Herculean objects with a rapidity 
 which, to those who have not observed. the power de- 
 rived from the simultaneous and concentrated exer- 
 tions of large numbers, appears almost incredible. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 255 
 
 For the more stupendous results of their combination, 
 they are indebted to the mutual aid of several com- 
 munities, alternately assisting each other, and also 
 to the astonishing power of their machinery, which 
 is brought to the very highest perfection. Chemistry 
 and mechanism, and indeed the general principles of 
 all the sciences, are familiar, theoretically and prac- 
 tically, to every individual. With such qualifications, 
 united to vigorous health, you will readily conceive 
 them to be most efficient co-operators. 
 
 Besides the vast superiority these people exhibit 
 in mental attainments, they differ from all others in 
 the careful and peculiar education of the females, who 
 are equally well-informed with the men upon all 
 subjects to which they subsequently devote the same 
 attention : indeed, the superiority found in either 
 sex appears to arise from the opportunities which 
 their respective avocations afford them, after arriving 
 at an adult Q.o-e^. In a knowledo-e of those sciences 
 
 * " That both sexes are equally capable of being taught, of 
 comprehending, appreciating, and making their own, all the 
 knowledge accumulated on moral and physical subjects, and 
 judging of that knowledge, similar facilities being afforded to 
 each, the most ample experience has fully proved." — Thompson's 
 Appeal of Women, p. 136. 
 
256 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 the practical application of which requires greater 
 strength, the men generally excel ; but in those best 
 suited to the habits of females, their perception is 
 most improved. In the study of the nature and 
 operations of the human mind, from which the Persian 
 ladies are debarred, the females here are the most 
 assiduous ; for as the care of infants and of the earliest 
 instruction of youth belong to them, it is considered 
 of the greatest importance that they should be well 
 grounded in whatever relates to the formation of 
 character ; and this knowledge, they say, is acquired 
 less through the medium of metaphysical writings, 
 than by a daily observation of the living subject. The 
 high intelligence of the females has entirely dissi- 
 pated the long prevailing error, that their intellectual 
 powers are inferior to those of men ; and while they 
 display an elevation of character that commands ad- 
 miration, they possess a sweetness of disposition and 
 a kindness of manner that win upon the heart. 
 
 But language would fail me were I to attempt 
 a description of the rapid progress made by the 
 children, animated by an insatiable thirst for the 
 acquisition of knowledge, and an enthusiasm in the 
 exercise of benevolent feeling. I have had frequent 
 opportunities of observing with great pleasure their 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 257 
 
 attention to the aged ; but one instance proved so 
 interesting to me that I must relate the particulars. 
 
 One evening after wandering alone among the lovely 
 scenery that skirts the lake, I sauntered up a meadow 
 in which there was a gently sloping hill crowned with 
 a wood. As I ascended the hill, my ear was saluted 
 with the sweetest melody, accompanied by the voices 
 of children. Curiosity prompted me to draw near ; 
 and I seated myself upon a rustic chair, under a 
 hawthorn hedge, sufficiently nigh to hear, though 
 the party were obscured from my view. They 
 were singing some stanzas from one of their favourite 
 poems, ' Beattie's Minstrel; and I could distinctly 
 hear the followinp- ; 
 
 " O how canst thou renounce the boundless store 
 Of charms which Nature to her votary yields ! 
 The warbling woodland, the resounding shore, 
 The pomp of groves, and garniture of fields ; 
 All that the genial ray of morning gilds. 
 And all that echoes to the song of even, 
 All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields, 
 
 And all the dread magnificence of heaven, 
 
 O how canst thou renounce, and hope to be forgiven." 
 
 In a short time the music ceased, when I beheld 
 a venerable old man blind, with a harp hanging by 
 his side, and a number of young children walking 
 with him. They were relating some of the occur- 
 
258 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 rences of the day, upon which he appeared to be 
 commenting and deducing useful instruction. 
 
 I must not omit to mention a very striking 
 pecuharity in the character of the inhabitants of these 
 happy communities. At every period of life they 
 manifest the same artlessness of manner and inge- 
 nuous conduct so interesting in children*^. Their 
 countenances are not disfigured by the corroding 
 cares of perpetual strife ; they have neither the super- 
 
 •* " I cannot help considering all, or almost all that which is 
 called original corruption, and evil disposition, to be the effects 
 of the system of civilization (falsely so called) ; and particularly 
 that prominent feature of it, the great inequality of property. 
 Do we not see in cliildren artless simplicity, pure disinterested- 
 ness, and benevolence, so constantly, as to be characteristic of 
 that age ; and does not Scripture itself characterize children by 
 those qualities, and, as such, declare them fit for the reception 
 of tlie Gospel ? As they advance in life, the natural dispositions 
 of. that age become gradually altered and corrupted. I would 
 ask, whether any other cause whatever is so well adapted to 
 counteract and destroy these good qualities of simplicity, disin- 
 terestedness, and benevolence, as the mine and thine established 
 in such a rigorous and unrelenting manner? 
 
 " What so effectually opposes disinterestedness, as the neces- 
 sity they see, as soon as they can observe any thing, their pa- 
 rents are under, of considering themselves only ; and that, with 
 all the attention to themselves only, and to their wants, they 
 are still so ill provided." — Dr, Hall: Effects of Civilization, 
 p. '269. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 259 
 
 ciliousness of pride, nor the dejection of poverty : 
 but every where you meet with a cheerful serenity 
 and a dignity unaffected. 
 
 There is no appearance of that monotony of charac- 
 ter of which some have been apprehensive ; as a great 
 diversity of dispositions and pursuits prevails. They 
 are uniform in those qualities only which distinguish 
 men of superior education : having acquired an early 
 taste for the scenes of nature, their minds are better 
 prepared to promote and to enjoy a corresponding 
 order and beauty in the moral world. Their love of 
 nature's works is so general, as to appear almost in- 
 stinctive. 
 
 -the love of Nature's works 
 
 Is an ingredient in the compound man. 
 
 Infused at the creation of the kind. 
 
 And, though th' Ahuighty Maker has throughout 
 
 Discriminated each from each, by strokes 
 
 And touches of his hand, with so much art 
 
 Diversified, that two were never found 
 
 Twins at all points, — yet this obtains in all, 
 
 That all discern a beauty in his works, 
 
 And all can taste them : minds, that have been form'd 
 
 And tutor'd, with a relish more exact. 
 
 But none without some relish, none unmoved*^." 
 
 Cowpej'. 
 
 " It is curious to remark the different arguments against 
 systems of mutual co-operation : they are even more opposed to 
 s 2 
 
260 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 When I have remarked upon, and extolled, these 
 excellencies, they reply, that if the conduct of their 
 fellow citizens exhibited not a combination of all that 
 is really estimable, they would immediately deem 
 their institutions imperfect, and then search for the 
 cause either in the matter of instruction in their col- 
 leges, in the laws of the community, or in some of 
 the minor regulations j for it has been their constant 
 endeavour to form a union of such circumstances only 
 as experience has proved are most conducive to 
 virtue and to happiness. 
 
 I can observe scarcely any distinction in the 
 
 each other, than to the constitution of society which they join in 
 condemning. The one saying that "it is impossible to make 
 all men aUke :" the other, that " a dull uniformity of character 
 will be produced." This last attributes more power to the 
 principle of co-operation than its warmest friends contend for. 
 The limits of this power are well defined by Mr. Owen: — 
 
 " Man then is born with combined propensities and qualities, 
 differing in degree and power, and in combination, sufficient to 
 create through life individuality and distinctness of pers(>n, and 
 character. 
 
 " But, however much the power and combination of these 
 propensities and qualities may differ in individuals at birth, they 
 may be all so directed by subsequent circumstances, as to be 
 made to form general characters, and these characters to be of 
 any, of the most opposite nature, even to be made entirely irra- 
 tional or rational." — Mr. Owen's Public Address in London, Au- 
 gust 7, 1817. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 261 
 
 deference and attention they pay to each other, ex- 
 cepting that which age or experience command. I 
 should, however, except those also who are afflicted 
 with any disease or natural infirmity, for they are the 
 objects who chiefly attract the sympathy of the whole 
 community ; and it is truly gratifying to behold to 
 how great an extent their sufferings appear to be 
 alleviated by the assiduous and affectionate attention 
 of surrounding: friends- 
 
 Such is the delightful result of the application 
 to practice of those invaluable principles of which 
 you have so long been the unwearied and ardent ad- 
 vocate. Proceed then, Almured, in your enlight- 
 ened and glorious career ; suffer not Persia to exhibit 
 those melancholy scenes which once disgraced this 
 coimtry ; when the light of knowledge and the dark- 
 ness of ignorance were co-existent; when the clouds of 
 prejudice intercepted the rays of truth ; when a re- 
 ligion inculcating the sublimest precepts of charity 
 was professed, while a system was upheld, fruitful 
 in all the vices which that religion condemned ; 
 when riches and poverty dwelt together in the same 
 land, and with pampering luxury and wasting famine 
 shared in the desolation of the human frame. Far 
 different will be the fate of Persia, and of all coun- 
 tries, when science dawning upon the social economy 
 
262 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 of man, shall have taught a beneficial appropriation 
 of wealth : then shall health be enjoyed, purer than 
 the lilies of Teflis, and more fragrant than the roses 
 of Cashmere ; the intercourse of nations shall be har- 
 monious as the songs of Mirza ; " there shall be no 
 leading into captivity, and no complaining in our 
 streets ;" for then shall the widow cease to mourn, 
 and the orphan no longer need a protector^. 
 
 But if among the splendid results of this tran- 
 scendent change, the alleviation of misery and the 
 banishment of moral evil are the primary objects of 
 our solicitude, we may still be allowed to hail in the 
 approaching sera, the rapid advances which mankind 
 will make towards the attainment of that intellectual 
 greatness and elevated character, to which they are 
 evidently destined. When we reflect upon the my- 
 riads who have passed their allotted time upon the 
 earth, and observe how small is the number of those 
 
 ' " We guarantee to each other, that the young children of 
 any person dying within the community shall be equally pro- 
 tected, educated, and cherished with the children of the living 
 members, and entitled, when they become adult, to all the ad- 
 vantages and equal proprietorship thereof. In this community, 
 no children can be reduced to the destitution of orphans in the 
 present state of society." — Vide ^'Articles of Agreement (drawn 
 zip and recommended hy the London Co-operative Society) for the 
 Formation of a Communiti/." 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 263 
 
 who have displayed any mental superiority, they ap- 
 pear to have served merely as lights to exhibit the 
 extent of the surrounding darkness. But if with the 
 very limited cultivation bestowed upon the human 
 mind, the world has been enlightened with the pro- 
 found discoveries of a Kepler and a Newton, — en- 
 chanted with the grandeur and sublimity of a Homer 
 and a Milton, — with the vivid imagery and luxuriant 
 fancy of a Spenser and a Shakespear, — and with the 
 melody of our own Hafiz ; what may we not expect 
 when " knowledge shall cover the earth, as the waters 
 cover the sea?" 
 
 Never has genius in her happiest hours, or in her 
 most exalted aspirations conceived the intellectual 
 glories that await mankind, on the revival of that 
 prophetic day, when " the morning stars sang together, 
 and all the sons of God shouted for joy," and when the 
 globe itself shall become the living temple of virtue 
 and of science, and reflect a brighter effulgence as 
 it moves onward through the firmament of heaven. 
 
 Saadi. 
 
CHATTER XIII. 
 
 " See there the ohve grove of Academe, 
 Plato's retirement, where the Attic bird 
 Trills her thick-warbled notes the summer long; 
 There flowery hill, Hymettus, with the sound 
 Of bees' industrious murmur, oft invites 
 To studious musing." — Milton. 
 
 We must now return to our colony upon Ben Lo- 
 mond, whose bleak atmosphere rendered all the ma- 
 gic influence of the wand of Allan Ramsay necessary 
 to preserve them from a torpid state. So effectually, 
 however, was this influence exerted, that the bees 
 were deeply interested in all the proceedings about 
 Loch Lomond. Already had the disaffected lost 
 most of their prejudices, when an event took place, 
 on the morning after the festivities, which entirely 
 dissipated every remaining antipathy to mutual co- 
 operation. Under the brow of a hill which gradually 
 rises above the village of Luss, there was a consider- 
 able number of glass hives ; and as the inhabitants 
 were about to remove a portion of the honey, the 
 Genius directed the attention of his assembly to their 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 265 
 
 operations. Instead of cruelly destroying the bees, 
 as the poet pathetically laments, — 
 
 " Ah see where robb'd, and murder'd, in that pit 
 Lies the still heaving hive ! at evening snatch'd, 
 Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night, 
 And fix'd o'er sulphur : while, not dreaming ill, 
 The happy people in their waxen cells. 
 Sat tending public cares, and planning schemes 
 Of temperance, for Winter poor ; rejoiced 
 To mark, full flowing round, their copious stores. 
 Sudden the dark oppressive steam ascends ; 
 And, used to milder scents, the tender race, 
 By thousands, tumble from their honey'd domes, 
 Convolv'd, and agonizing in the dust. 
 Ah '. was it then for this you roam'd the spring, 
 Intent from flower to flower ; for this you toil'd 
 Ceaseless the burning summer-heats away ? 
 For this in autumn search'd the blooming waste. 
 Nor lost one sunny gleam, for this sad fate ? 
 O man ! tyrannic lord ! how long, how long, 
 Shall prostrate Nature groan beneath your rage, 
 Awaiting renovation? When obliged 
 Must you destroy ? Of their ambrosial food 
 Can you not borrow ; and, in just return, 
 Afl'ord them shelter from the wintry winds ?" — 
 
 a small part only of the honey was abstracted, and 
 without the destruction of a single bee ^. When this 
 
 * " I esteem Colonna more entitled to the honours of a mo- 
 nument, for having introduced the practice of obtaining honey 
 
266 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 was beheld by the spectators on the mountain, their 
 joy became unbounded. They flew around the Genius 
 in the greatest ecstasy, and all declared that hence- 
 forward they would live together in amity. Orpheus 
 and his followers, too happy in the anticipation of 
 the happiness that awaited them on their return to 
 the laws of nature, felt no discomfiture in the over- 
 throw of their theories ; and Emilius, disdaining to 
 triumph in a victory so joyous to all, embraced 
 with ar4our his former opponents. The Genius 
 finding their conviction complete, prepared to depart ; 
 but as night came on, the clouds collected in masses 
 mid-way down the mountain, and gave every in- 
 dication of an approaching storm. Heavy clouds 
 sailed in from the west, and entirely obscured the 
 view of the communities, while the summit of the 
 mountain was perfectly serene. Soon the lightning 
 began to flash, and the thunder to roll : but on the 
 eastern side there was an almost unfathomable pre- 
 cipice, and there the tempest raged with redoubled 
 violence ; — nothing could exceed the fury of the ele- 
 
 without destroying the bees, into the vale of Festiniog, than 
 Field Marshal Turenne. Turenne destroyed his thousands; 
 Colonna has preserved his tens of thousands : — Turenne's mo- 
 nument is of marble, — let Colonna's be formed of honey-comb ! " 
 — See Beauties, Harmonies, and Sublimities of^ Nature, bj/ Mr.Bucke. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 267 
 
 mental strife, the terrific glare of the lightning, and 
 the deafening peals of thunder. Over this frightful 
 scene the Genius waved his wand, and exclaimed, 
 " Behold the demon of discord, ruling paramount over 
 his turbulent empire, the chaos of competition." And 
 as the vivid flashes illumined the dread abyss, there 
 appeared in the midst a hideous monster of gigantic 
 stature, wearing an iron crown, and seated on a 
 throne raised upon the tombs of those who had been 
 consigned to a premature grave, from the sorrows and 
 conflicts of contending interests. Surrounding this 
 throne, but at some distance, were small eminences, 
 with men attempting to climb to the summit ; but 
 when they had got half way up, or even higher, 
 they fell to the bottom, or pulled down others, whom 
 they destroyed, for the sake of supplanting them''. 
 
 '' " Like so many buckets in a well, as one riseth, another 
 falleth, one 's empty, another 's full ; his ruin is a ladder to the 
 third ; — such are our ordinary proceedings. What 's the mar- 
 ket ? A place according to Anacharsis, wherein they cozen one 
 another, a trap; nay, what 's the world itself ? A vast chaos, 
 a confusion of manners, as fickle as the air, domicilium insanorum, 
 a turbulent troop full of impurities, a mart of walking spirits, 
 goblins, the theatre of hypocrisy, a shop of knavery, flattery, a 
 nursery of villany, the scene of babbling, the school of giddi- 
 ness, the academy of vice ; a warfare ubi velis nolis pugnandum, 
 aut vincas aut succumbas, in which kill or be killed ; wherein 
 every man is for himself, his private ends, and stands upon his 
 own guard." — Bitrton'a Anatomy, 
 
268 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 Of the millions endeavouring to rise, but a few 
 reached the summits ; which even when attained, 
 disappointment lowered on their brows, for they en- 
 vied those whose eminences were still higher than 
 their own, while they in turn excited the envy of all 
 below. The failure of the multitude did not abate 
 this general eagerness to ascend ; for the unfortunate, 
 however numerous, were soon lost sight of and 
 forgotten, while the successful few occupied con- 
 spicuous stations. Again the Genius waved his 
 wand, and the demon with his throne vanished "like 
 the baseless fabric of a vision,*' and his empire was 
 but dimly seen : the storm began to subside ; and 
 as the lightning played with less intensity, it disclosed 
 in a lower depth, the gulf of oblivion. Hither were 
 hastening all the supports and appendages of the 
 competitive system *^ ; — prisons, and the terrible 
 
 •^"From this principle of individual interest have arisen all 
 the divisions of mankind, the endless errors and mischiefs of 
 class, sect, party, and of national antipathies, creating the angry 
 and malevolent passions, and all the crimes and misery with 
 which the human race has been hitherto afflicted. In short, 
 if there be one closet doctrine more contrary to truth than 
 another, it is the notion that individual interest, as that term is 
 now understood, is a more advantageous principle on which to 
 found the social system, for the benefit of all, or of any, than 
 the principle of union and mutual co-operation. The former 
 acts like an immense weight to repress the most valuable fa- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 269 
 
 instruments of punishment, with books and pamphlets 
 out of number — PufFendorf, Vatel, Coke, Littleton, 
 the Statutes at large. Currency, National Debt, 
 Principle of Population, &.C. &c. 
 
 A volume of clouds rolled over the gulf; and then 
 gradually opening, an immense globe turning on its 
 axis, and representing the earth, emerged from the 
 centre. The seasons and all the operations of nature 
 appeared in rapid succession : the seed dropped into 
 the ground, and soon re-appeared in the beautiful 
 form of the flower ; the acorn fell, and anon the oak 
 extended its luxuriant branches. Each revolution 
 instead of describino- diurnal chanaes exhibited a 
 
 culties and dispositions, and to give a wrong direction to all the 
 human powers. It is one of those magnificent errors (if the 
 expression may be allowed), that when enforced in practice, 
 brings ten thousand evils in its train. The principle on which 
 these economists proceed, instead of adding to the wealth of 
 nations or of individuals, is itself the sole cause of poverty; and 
 but for its operation, wealth would long ago have ceased to be 
 a subject of contention in any part of the world. If, it may be 
 asked, experience has proved that union, combination, and 
 extensive arrangement among mankind, are a thousand times 
 more powerful to destroy, than the efforts of an unconnected 
 multitude, where each acts individually for himself, — would 
 not a similar increased effect be produced by union, combina- 
 tion, and extensive arrangement, to create and conserve?" — Mr. 
 Owen's Report to the County of Lanark. 
 
270 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 different cera. At the first, mankind were seen in 
 the hunting state, — " When first in woods, the noble 
 savage ran." At the second, shepherds were tend- 
 ing their flocks, and playing on the oaten pipe, — " Sil- 
 vestrem tenui musam meditaris avena." At the third 
 revolution, the plough was in the ground, and the 
 right of private property was established. Then 
 commenced usurpation, robbery, and war. At the 
 fourth, science had enabled man to produce riches in 
 abundance, but as yet the right use of them was un- 
 known : there might be seen immense masses of 
 wealth, in the midst of a starving population, more 
 contention than when less wealth prevailed and in- 
 finitely more disease and crime ^. 
 
 At the fifth revolution, a far greater change had 
 
 '^ It is a remarkable coincidence, that at the very period when 
 the general diffusion of knowledge has exposed to the view of 
 all classes the injustice of exclusive privileges, their injurious 
 consequences have become more aggravated by the accelerated 
 convergence of property on the one hand, and the wide spread of 
 pauperism on the other. 
 
 " La surcharge rendant la possession des terres onereuse, 
 I'humble proprietaire abandonna son champ, ou le vendit a 
 I'homme puissant; etles fortunes se concentrerent en un moin- 
 dre nombre de mains. Et toutes les lois et les institutions 
 se partagerent entre un groupe d'oisifs opulens et une multi- 
 tude pauvre de mercenaires," 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 271 
 
 taken place than in any of the preceding. Wealth, 
 which had before laid in masses, was now beneficially 
 diffused and greatly increased. And now prevailed 
 the invaluable riches of the mind, and all the virtues 
 flourished ; — for ignorance with its train of follies and 
 vices had fled, never more to return. The lion dwelt 
 in peace with the lamb, the eagle and the turtle-dove 
 took their flight together. The waters gushed out in 
 the dry places, and the wilderness became convert- 
 ed into rich pastures. In the desert bloomed the 
 myrtle and the rose, while the clustering vine sprang 
 up bearing its purple fruit. The lowly hut was sup- 
 planted by the convenient and splendid edifice ; and 
 the whole earth exhibited indescribable magnificence 
 and beauty. 
 
 As the storm passed away, these fairy scenes 
 melted into air, and the moon arose in calm and un- 
 clouded majesty, casting her mild radiance over the 
 humid plains. The Genius waved his wand, and 
 suddenly, a lunar rainbow, rising from the summit of 
 the mountain, extended over the country to the Pent- 
 land Hills. Alight billowy cloud appeared, bearing 
 an aerial chariot, the wheels of which resembled the 
 rich golden colours of the setting sun ; the body was 
 of a rosy hue, and formed like a hive. The Genius 
 
272 THE REVOLT OF THE BEES. 
 
 ascended the chariot, while the innumerable silken 
 traces of the finest tenuity were borne by the bees, 
 who thus conducted the Spirit over the Iris to their 
 native hills. 
 
 RICHARD TAYLOR, PRINTER, 
 SHOE-LANE. 
 
m 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ii