The Life of Jean Henri Fabre 



fuls of the most repulsive caterpillars with 

 no more apprehension than if he were picking 

 a bunch of violets." Several times a day he 

 scrupulously inspects the under sides of the 

 dead moles placed for purposes of observa- 

 tion in the harmas, takes note of the labours 

 of the Necrophori, and, without more ado, 

 seizes upon the fugitives and returns them to 

 their workshop. He alone of the household 

 ventures to lend his assistance in such a dis- 

 gusting task. 



Little Paul is always equal to the circum- 

 stances. If he is cool he is no less enthusi- 

 astic, but it is a well-directed enthusiasm. 

 For proof I need only cite the night of the 

 Great Peacock, the honour of which was due 

 almost wholly to little Paul. 



It was a " memorable night," the night of 

 the Great Peacock. 



Who does not know the magnificent Moth, the 

 largest in Europe, clad in maroon velvet with a 

 necktie of white fur? The wings, with their 

 sprinkling of grey and brown, crossed by a faint 

 zigzag and edged with smoky white, have in the 

 centre a round patch, a great eye with a black pu- 

 pil and a variegated iris containing successive black, 

 white, chestnut, and purple arcs. 



Well, on the morning of the 6th of May, a fe- 

 male emerges from her cocoon in my presence, on 

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