More Hunting Wasps 



to beat it in the extravagant medley of fi- 

 gures in his Temptation of Saint Anthony. 

 Its flat abdomen, scalloped at the edges, 

 rises into a twisted crook; its peaked head 

 carries on the top two large, divergent, tusk- 

 shaped horns; its sharp, pointed face, which 

 can turn and look to either side, would fit 

 the wily purpose of some Mephistopheles; 

 its long legs have cleaver-like appendages at 

 the joints, similar to the arm-pieces which 

 the knights of old used to bear upon their 

 elbows. Perched high upon the shanks of 

 its four hind-legs, with its abdomen curled, 

 its thorax raised erect, its fore-legs, the traps 

 and implements of warfare, folded against 

 its chest, it sways limply from side to side, 

 on the tip of a bough. 



Any one seeing it for the first time in its 

 grotesque pose will give a start of surprise. 

 The Tachytes knows no such alarm. If she 

 catches sight of it, she seizes it by the neck 

 and stabs it. It will be a treat for her child- 

 ren. How does she manage to recognize 

 in this spectre the near relation of the Pray- 

 ing Mantis? When frequent hunting-expe- 

 ditions have familiarized her with the last- 

 named and suddenly, in the midst of the 



painter, famous for the grotesque nature of his subjects. — 

 Translator's Note. 



142 



