FALLING OF THE "MANNA." 269 



none but a God infinite in wisdom as well as 

 love would take such thought for so humble a 

 creature as a poor insect; but let us not forget 

 that 



" each crawling insect holds a rank 



Important in the plan of Him who framed 

 This scale of beings, holds a rank, which, lost, 

 Would break the chain, and leave behind a gap 

 Which Nature's self would rue." 



The duration of the insect in the pupa state, 

 though variable, is, without doubt, limited, and 

 sometimes it is fixed to an hour, quite irrespective 

 of all external circumstances. The most remark- 

 able example of this kind occurs in the case of the 

 insects whose larva we have already mentioned 

 the Ephemera. These insects appear with the 

 greatest regularity, issuing from the waters of 

 the Seine or Marne, in France, between the 

 10th and 15th of August. The fishermen call 

 them manna ; and when their season is come, they 

 say, " the manna begins to appear," or " the manna 

 fell abundantly last night," alluding, by this ex- 

 pression, either to the astonishing quantity of food 

 which the insects afford to the fish, or to the large 

 quantity of fish which they then take. The 



