CH. XI.] THE GNAT. 191 



of Higuerote and the mouth of the Rio-Unare, the 

 wretched inhabitants are accustomed to stretch 

 themselves on the ground, and pass the night buried 

 in the sand three or four inches deep, exposing only 

 the head, which they cover with a handkerchief." 



After enumerating these and other examples of 

 the achievements of the gnat and mosquito tribe, 

 Kirby says, " It is not therefore incredible that 

 Sapor, king of Persia, should have been compelled 

 to raise the siege of Nisibis by a plague of gnats, 

 which attacked his elephants and beasts of burden, 

 and so caused the rout of his army ; nor that the 

 inhabitants of various cities should, by an extraor- 

 dinary multiplication of this plague, have been com- 

 pelled to desert them ; nor that, by their power of 

 doing mischief, like other conquerors who have been 

 the torment of the human race, they should have 

 attained to fame, and have given their name to bays, 

 towns, and territories."* 



The instrument with which they inflict their tor- 

 tures, simple as it appears to the eye, is neverthe- 

 less wonderfully complicated and ingenious : it 

 forms a set of lancets, consisting of five pieces, 

 enclosed in a case. This case is split from one end 

 to the other, and, as the creature sucks, it serves to 

 give steadiness to the instruments, while they are 

 thrust forward into our flesh. In the first figure 

 (Jig' 1), the lancets alone are seen entering, and 

 their case forms an arc, supporting them. In the 

 second (Jig. 2), the lancets are perceived to have 

 penetrated more deeply, while the case, not enter- 

 ing, is seen to form an angle. 



In order to see the whole process of suction, 

 Reaumur courted what most others sedulously shun 

 a sting or two : " After a gnat had done me the 

 kindness of settling on the hand I stretched out, I 

 saw that it protruded a very fine point from its pro- 



* Mosquito Bay. Mosquitos, a town in Cuba, Mosquito country 

 in North America. 



