The Pelopaeus 



pointed to the Avignon grammar-school. 

 It was close upon two o'clock; and in a few 

 minutes the roll of the drum would summon 

 me to display the properties of the Leyden 

 jar to an audience of wool-gatherers. I 

 was preparing to start, when I saw a 

 strange, agile insect, with a slender body 

 and a gourd-shaped abdomen slung at the 

 end of a long thread, dart through the reek 

 rising from the wash-tub. It was the 

 Pelopaeus, whom I saw for the first time 

 with observant eyes. A novice still and 

 anxious to become better-acquainted with 

 my visitor, I fervently commended the in- 

 sect to the watchful care of the household, 

 begging them not to disturb it in my absence 

 and to manage the fire in such a way as not 

 to inconvenience it in its plucky work of 

 building the walls of its nest right beside 

 the flame. My wishes were carried out 

 religiously. 



Things went better than I dared hope. 

 On my return, the Pelopaeus was continuing 

 her mason's work behind the steam of the 

 wash-tub, which stood under the mantel of 

 a wide chimney. Eager as I was to witness 

 the construction of the cells, to identify the 

 nature of the provisions, to follow the 

 evolution of the larvas, all of them 

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