316 CHAPTER XLIV. 



he lives. It is sometimes almost impossible to see 

 them until they move, and even their eyes appear to 

 take the tint of the stone. 



I have seen but one other living creature that 

 imitated the surface of rock or stone so successfully : 

 that is Briseis, a butterfly of the Satyridse. When 

 this insect settles on a stony spot, and raises his 

 wings, so as to expose the under surface, and com- 

 pletely hide the colours on the upper side, it becomes 

 practically invisible. You may conie within a few 

 inches, and still fail to distinguish the butterfly. 

 Satyrus Hermione (Fig. 23), again, when perched on 

 the trunk of a chestnut tree, may defy the sharpest 

 eye. From what enemies is the Gecko thus carefully 

 concealed ? No quadruped can reach him as he 

 clings to the vertical cliffs by his adhesive toes. 

 Either he fears some bird, or, what seems to be 

 more likely, he finds the disguise useful to beguile 

 his prey. 



Another species of Gecko occurs on the Riviera. 

 Jt is lighter in colour. I have been told that the 

 sea-rocks east of the port of Nice are good places 

 to look for it. 



*' You unsanctified son of a house lizard ! " was 

 the remark addressed by Miss Kingsley to a clumsy 

 negro who had upset the boat and capsized her into 

 some very dirty water. The provocation was cer- 

 tainly sufficient to make the most good-natured 

 person say something emphatic, and the fair traveller 

 was equal to the occasion. If the " house-lizard " 

 here alluded to was a Gecko, we may infer that this 

 unfortunate little animal is in bad odour wherever he 

 is found. 



