BUTTERFLIES. 191 



America, and on the river of the Amazons, 

 are remarkable for their size, and for the 

 richness and vivid lustre of their colours. 

 Nor is it too bold an assertion, perhaps, that 

 the Butterflies of those hot climates afford 

 instances of the most perfect art of colouring 

 that nature has produced. But no descrip- 

 tion can be adequate to that, of which the 

 sight alone can form a competent idea. 

 Hence, in the Oriental countries, where the 

 Butterfly is so much larger and more beau- 

 tiful than ours, it is no wonder that it forms 

 a principal ornament of their poetry. 



Nature, in these insects, seems to have 

 been fond to sport in the artificial mixture 

 and display of her most radiant treasures- 

 In some, what elaborate harmony of colour- 

 ing, what brilliancy of tints, what soft and 

 gradual transitions from one to another ! In 

 the wings of others we may observe the 

 lustre and variety of all the colours of gold 

 and silver, and azure, and mother of pearl ; 

 the eyes that sparkle on the peacock's tail, 

 the edges bordered with shining silks, and 

 furbelows, and the magnificence of the rich- 

 est fringe. 



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