352 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



"The Insects' Homer." 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE EXAMPLE OF 

 HENRI FABRE. 



It seems incredible that the greatest 

 entomologist in the world should reach 

 the age of ninety and yet be appre- 

 ciated only bv a handful of kindred 



most celebrated of these is Maurice 

 Maeterlinck, who was inspired by his 

 talks with Fabre to write his master- 

 piece, "The Life of the Bee." Darwin 

 was a great admirer of the gentle Pro- 

 vencal, and called him the "incompar- 

 able observer." while Rostand has said 



HENRI FABRE. 



Illustration by courtesy of "The American Magazine," New York City. 



spirits ; and yet this has been the case 

 of Henri Fabre, the French naturalist 

 who suddenly became the talk of the 

 world, when the English and American 

 newspapers blazed forth the news, a 

 few months ago, that he was nigh to 

 starvation in his little cottage in Pro- 

 vence. 



Then we learned that there was such 

 a man, and the French government be- 

 stirred itself and settled a pension on 

 the modest old naturalist. 



This shy, delightful old philosopher 

 has never thought of courting fame, 

 but he has so inspired others that they 

 have won eternal renown. Perhaps the 



of him that he is "a savant who thinks 

 like a philosopher and writes like a 

 poet." 



His magically written "Entomological 

 Memoirs" are now being published in 

 English, and their charm will soon be 

 recognized by readers in two conti- 

 nents. Mr. Frank Harris, the English 

 critic, has said in a review of these 

 books that Fabre is "the wisest man, 

 and certainly the best read in the books 

 of nature, of whom the centuries have 

 left us any record." 



This old philosopher is a rare person- 

 age in many ways. He has lived a life 

 of endless adversity and at times of 



