112 LETTER OF A YOUNG ENTOMOLOGIST. 



vine, hast thou come hither, because thou wilt take Petir for thy wed- 

 ded hus'oand ?' Post responsionem interroga virum de periculis instan- 

 tibus, iitrum ipse habet uxorem, vel promiserit alteri, et de propinquitate 

 seu amicitia. Si non dabit responsionem quo ad periculum, tunc inter- 

 roga virginem eadem verba similiter quo ad virura fecisti ; et tunc pub- 

 lice interroga omnes circumstantes, si sciunt de periculo futuro ; quod 

 dicunt manifeste, et postea taceant, post hoc accipe manum dexteram 

 viri et dexteram virginis, et conjunge eas adinvicem, et die ad virum ilia 

 verba : — " Repeat after me, Petir. I, Petir, take thee Catherine for a wedded 

 wife, and promise thee that my faithfulness shall be toward thee and pro- 

 vide for thee,"et die ad virginem, "Repeatafter me, I Catherine take thee 

 Petir for a wedded husband, and promise thee that I will render thee my 

 faithfulness and obedience unto mine end." — Et audi quod verba supra 

 dicta non mutant, quo facto die secreto modo hsec verba, 'Quos deus 

 conjunx:it homo non separet,' et die 'Ego conjungo vos in nomine pa- 

 tris et filii et spiritus sancti.' Et sic percute eum supra scapulas etc, 

 recede." 



Here there is retained, at least, a popular symbol, i. e. the blow on the 

 shoulder in order to aid the memory, for which purpose it was also cus- 

 tomary, even according to statute, to box the ears. It may also be ob- 

 served that the form here given is, substantially, the same which is still 

 in use among us. 



A LETTER FROM A YOUNG ENTOMOLOGIST, WITH THE REPLY. 



Dear Rusticus, — Happening once to be in a forest, and wandering, 

 I knew not whither, I came to a small tree, upon which seeing consider- 

 able motion, I approached nearer and perceived that it was occasioned 

 by two different kinds of little animals, the movements of one of which 

 •were defensive whilst those of the other were aggressive. The aggress- 

 ors were your little friends, the ants, and the aggrieved were a species 

 of small caterpillars, which yet, however, were seven or eight times larg- 

 er than their determined invaders. The onset must have been made some 

 time before we arrived, as the caterpillars had mostly forsaken their 

 lodging and were scampering off, as well as caterpillars can scamper in 

 all directions. They seemed to be aware that their caterpillar existence 

 depended upon their speed. Some had suspended themselves by threads 

 beneath the branches to get out of the way of theit adversaries. Many, 

 however, had been unfortunate enough to fall to the ground, or rather 

 fortunate enough, for ihey seemed to be less annoyed than their friends 

 upon the tree. Tiic ants advanced fearlessly to the attack, and when they 



