First Attempts at Observation 



them stop work. With unsparing patience, 

 I thus obtained a series of snapshots which 

 the logic of things, that dehcate cinema- 

 tographer, afterwards combined to form a 

 living scene. I wished for more than this: 

 I should have liked to observe the couple in 

 continuous action, from the beginning to the 

 end of their task. I had to abandon the 

 idea, so impossible did it seem to me to ob- 

 serve the mysterious underground happen- 

 ings without perturbing excavations. 



To-day, my ambition to achieve the im- 

 possible has returned. The Minotaur pro- 

 claims himself a rival of the Geotrupes; he 

 even appears to be their superior. I pro- 

 pose to follow his actions underground, at 

 a depth of a yard and more, completely at 

 my ease, without in any way distracting the 

 insect from its occupations. To do this I 

 shall need the eyes of a Lynx, which are said 

 to be capable of piercing the opaquest night, 

 whereas I have only my ingenuity to fall 

 back upon in endeavouring to see plainly in 

 the dark. Let us see what it can do. 



To begin with, the direction of the burrow 



enables me to foresee that my plan is not 



altogether absurd. When digging her nest, 



the Minotaur descends perpendicularly. If 



99 



