And killed it; then, when morning came again,

Bore it to Ruth beneath the fragrant trees.

"I bring you, Ruth, a dead bee for a sign.

For if to-day you wear it in your hair,

When once again you come to walk the lane,

I then shall know that you are truly mine,

Willing to be my wife, and share my lot,

And let me toil with you like any bee;

But if you do not wear it, then I shall care

No more for anything; but waste my life,

A bee without a queen." Then not one word

Spoke Ruth; but when the sunset came, and she

Went from the house again to walk alone,

The dead bee glittered gem-like in her hair.

And him she met for whom the sign was meant,

And in his hand she laid her own, and smiled.

XI.

The next day, Richard Wain, when riding past,

Heard Ruth's bird-voice trilling in the lane,

And caught a glimpse of her between the trees,

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