The Psyches: the Laying 



ing that of a Common Fly, our little Moths 

 are still not without elegance. They have 

 handsome feathery plumes for antennae ; their 

 wings are edged with delicate fringes. They 

 whirl very fussily inside the bell-jar; they skim 

 the ground, fluttering their wings ; they crowd 

 eagerly around certain sheaths which nothing 

 on the outside distinguishes from the others. 

 They alight upon them and sound them with 

 their plumes. 



This feverish agitation marks them as 

 lovers in search of their brides. This one 

 here, that one there, each of them finds his 

 mate. But the coy one does not leave her 

 home. Things happen very discreetly through 

 the wicket left open at the free end of the 

 case. The male stands on the threshold of 

 this back-door for a little while; and then it 

 is over: the wedding is finished. There is 

 no need for us to linger over these nuptials 

 in which the parties concerned do not know, 

 do not see each other. 



I hasten to place in a glass tube the few 

 cases in which the mysterious events have hap- 

 pened. Some days later, the recluse comes 

 out of the sheath and shows herself in all her 

 wretchedness. Call that little fright a Moth ! 



i95 



