CHAPTER V 



MINOTAURUS TYPHCEUS : FIRST ATTEMPTS 

 AT OBSERVATION 



LONG ago, the Minotaur's cousins, the 

 Geotrupes, afforded me a delightfully 

 unusual spectacle, that of a prolonged associ- 

 ation in pairs, a real domestic couple, work- 

 ing in common for the children's welfare. 

 Philemon and Baucis, as I used to call them, 

 prepared their board and lodging with equal 

 ardour. Philemon, the sturdier of the two, 

 compressed the food by pushing it with his 

 fore-arms; Baucis explored the heap on the 

 surface, picking out the best part and lower- 

 ing by the armful the wherewithal to manu- 

 facture the enormous sausage. It was mag- 

 nificent to see the mother sifting and the 

 father compressing. 



A cloud overshadowed this exquisite pic- 

 ture. My subjects occupied a cage wherein 

 any inspection demanded an excavation on 

 my part, discreetly conducted, it is true, but 

 enough to startle the labourers and make 

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