THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 47 



low his conscience to be quite at rest, and he, a prey to 

 doubt and remorse, seems as if he wanted to justify him- 

 self. "An animal," he says, and the illustrious abbe never 

 spoke with more reason, " which revives after death, and 

 revives as often as one will, is a phenomenon so unheard of 

 that it appears improbable and paradoxical ; it confuses all 

 our ideas of animal life." 



Ancient credulity was wiser than modern science. Pliny 

 said that the phoenix only revived once ; our modern palin- 

 genesists maintain that they can repeat the revival of the 

 Rotifera as often as they like ! 



Three classes of animalcules have especially acquired ce- 

 lebrity in the annals of the resurrectionists. These are first 

 of all the Rotifera, after them the Tardigrades, and then 

 the Ans;uillula) of our roofs. 



The first are really very curious microscopic animals. 

 They are recognized at the first glance by two structures 

 like discs, which they protrude in front of their bodies, and 

 the ciliated borders of which closely resemble little toothed 

 wheels in movement. From this they are called Rotifera, 

 or "wheel-bearing animals." They live in great numbers 

 in the mosses which fasten themselves to the old tiles on 

 our roofs. There their existence is subjected to a host of 

 changes. When it is damp and the soil is steeped with 

 water, rendered tepid by the warmth, the Rotifera are 

 active and lively, running about everywhere to seek their 

 food. But when a powerful sun heats the roof and dries 

 the mosses, they remain shrivelled up so long as this state 

 of things lasts, contracting themselves like a ball, and re- 

 main in this condition, perfectly inanimate, till the rain re- 

 vives them. 



