A Rocky Ramble. 165 



It was here that I saw my first centipede, a shiny, 

 brown creature, that rested in a crevice of the 

 rock. It did not suggest " melancholy ferocity," 

 I quote the " Encyclopaedia Britannica," and 

 if possessed of such poisonous fangs, why should 

 it be so cowardly? A slight movement on my 

 part, after I had discovered it, caused it to disap- 

 pear instantly. No animal, I take it, ever moved 

 more rapidly, not even a humming-bird. Here is 

 the puzzling feature of this uncanny beast. For 

 long it had been resting in this sunny crevice, and 

 had, of course, seen us, and may I add ? saw that 

 we did not see it. If this startling suggestion is 

 true, it ascribes a deal of wit to a centipede ; and 

 the longer I take note of the creatures about me, 

 the more I am inclined to exalt their mental 

 status. We often see such actions on the part of 

 birds and mammals, and, too, of snakes. They 

 are swayed by conflicting emotions, curiosity and 

 fear, and while the latter usually gets the upper 

 hand in time, it is not always so. Why a centi- 

 pede, several inches long, feared by all creatures, 

 even by man, should be so extremely shy, is a 

 difficult problem to solve. If they have wit 



