116 THE SCARAB^EUS PROPER. 



an anxious merchant, whose ' mind is tossing on the ocean," 

 shall look eagerly upward to " know where sits the wind," he 

 may be reminded, by an emblem of mortality, that the ship 

 Death, for which, perhaps, he is booked an early passenger, 

 may be coming from the north or south, or east or west, and 

 that sooner than any one of his expected argosies. 



The sacred beetle of Egypt is not a native of Britain, and 

 only of Europe as naturalized in its southern countries from 

 (he neighbouring continent of Africa. It is only, therefore, 

 in insect collections that the Scorabzeus proper can be seen in 

 its own desiccated person. Figures thereof, both sculptured 

 and painted, are, however, always on view with the Egyptian 

 antiquities in the British Museum, some smaller than their 

 original, others of gigantic size, but they are said to be, in 

 general, pretty correct representations of the thing intended. 



But though we have not a Scaralmis saccr in the list of 

 our indigenous beetles, we have an insect greatly resembling it 

 in form, as well as habits, which may be met with almost every- 

 where, and on every day from March to October. This is 

 no other than the " great dor,'* or " clock " the " sharde- 

 borne beetle " of our immortal Bard, that which, on summer 

 and autumn evenings, so often with drowsy hum wheels lum- 

 bering past us, or bangs up right against us. 



Like the Scarabseus, this clock-beetle* is, in figure, broad, 

 and short, and clumsy. His forehead has none, indeed, of those 

 * See Vignette : Clock Beetle, Geotrvpes slercorarius. 



