|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 91
"'The blind girl sees,' said I to myself; 'she sees through thousands of
eyes; the apiary is her life, her soul. Every bee carries a part of her
away into space, and then returns drawn to her by thousands of invisible
threads. The blind girl penetrates the flowers and the mosses; she revels
in their perfume; when the sun shines she is everywhere; in the mountain
side, in the valleys, in the forests, as far as her sphere of attraction
extends.'
"I sat confounded at this strange magnetic influence, and felt tempted to
exclaim--
"'Honour, glory, honour to the power, the wisdom, and the infinite
goodness of the Eternal God! For Him nothing is impossible. Every day,
every instant of our lives reveals to us His magnificence.'
"While I was lost in these enthusiastic reflections, Raesel addressed me
with a quiet smile.
"'Sir,' said she.
"'What, my child?'
"'You are very much surprised at me, and you are not the first person who
has been so. The rector Hegel, of Neufchatel, and other travellers have
been here on purpose to see me: they thought I was blind. You thought so
too, did you not?'
"'I did indeed, my dear child, and I thank the Lord that I was mistaken.'
"'Yes,' said she, 'I know you are a good man--I can tell it by your
voice. When the sun shines I shall open my eyes to look at you, and when
you leave here I will accompany you to the foot of the mountain.'
"Then she began to laugh most artlessly.
"'Yes,' said she, 'you shall have music in your ears, and I will seat
myself on your cheek; but you must take care--take care. You must not
touch me, or I should sting you. You must promise not to be angry.'
"'I promise you, Raesel, I promise you I will not,' I said with tears in
my eyes, 'and, moreover, I promise you never to kill a bee or any other
insect except those which do harm.'
"'They are the eyes of the Lord,' she murmured. 'I can only see by my own
poor bees, but He has every hive, every ant's nest, every leaf, every
blade of grass. He lives, He feels, He loves, He suffers, He does good
by means of all these. Oh, Monsieur Hennetius, you are right not to pain
the Lord, who loves us so much!'
"Never in my life had I been so moved and affected, and it was a full
minute before I could ask her--
"'So, my dear child, you see by your bees; will you explain to me how
that is?'
"'I cannot tell, Monsieur Hennetius; it may be because I am so fond of
them. When I was quite a little child they adopted me, and they have
never once hurt me. At first I liked to sit for hours in the apiary all
alone and listen to their humming for hours together. I could see nothing
then, everything was dark to me; but insensibly light came upon me. At
first I could see the sun a little, when it was very hot, then a little
more, with the wild vine and the honeysuckle like a shade over me, then
the full light of day. I began to emerge from myself; my spirit went
forth with the bees. I could see the mountains, the rocks, the lake, the
flowers and mosses, and in the evening, when quite alone, I reflected on
these things. I thought how beautiful they were, and when people talked
of this and that, of whortleberries, and mulberries, and heaths, I said
to myself, "I know what all these things are like--they are black, or
brown, or green." I could see them in my mind, and every day I became
better acquainted with them, thanks to my dear bees; and therefore I love
them dearly, Monsieur Hennetius. If you knew how it grieves me when the
time comes for robbing them of their wax and their honey!'
"'I believe you, my child--I believe it does.'
"My delight at this wonderful discovery was boundless.
"Two days longer Raesel entertained me with a description of her
impressions. She was acquainted with every flower, every Alpine plant,
and gave me an account of a great number which have as yet received
no botanical names, and which are probably only to be found in
inaccessible situations.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|