LEP1SM&. 25i 



interfere ; when, however, the room was repapered 

 I never saw these small visitants again. 



I had a great wish to keep and study these 

 singular creatures, and the only way to obtain 

 them seemed to be by a nocturnal visit to my 

 kitchen hearth, where I learned they were some- 

 times to be seen darting about in the warmth, 

 seeking for such stray crumbs of sugar as they 

 might find. 



Happily this old house is not tenanted by 

 cockroaches, else I should not have cared to 

 intrude upon their domain in the witching 

 hour of night ; lepismas alone were to be seen 

 gliding about, but how to catch them was a 

 problem I found hard to solve. I tried various 

 methods without success, and was about to retire 

 quite discomfited by the exceeding swiftness of 

 my quarry, when a bright idea occurred to me. 

 With a sudden sweep of a small soft brush I 

 wafted the insects on to a plate, and quickly 

 transferred them into a glass globe. In this way 

 I obtained nine perfect specimens, and was able 

 to watch the beautiful little creatures, and admire 

 their glistening bodies and agile movements. 



