The Life of Jean Henri Fabre 



possession of pretty well every part of the house. 

 What will it be around my prisoner, the cause of 

 this incursion? Luckily, one of the two windows 

 of the study had been left open. The approach 

 is not blocked. 



We enter the room, candle in hand. What we 

 see is unforgettable. With a soft flick-flack the 

 great Moths fly around the bell-jar, alight, set 

 off again, come back, fly up to the ceiling and 

 down. They rush at the candle, putting it out with 

 a stroke of their wings; they descend on our shoul- 

 ders, clinging to our clothes, grazing our faces. 

 The scene suggests a wizard's cave, with its whirl 

 of Bats. Little Paul holds my hand tighter than 

 usual, to keep up his courage. 



How many of them are there? About a score. 

 Add to these the number that have strayed into 

 the kitchen, the nursery, and the other rooms of 

 the house; and the total of those who have arrived 

 from the outside cannot fall far short of forty. 

 As I said, it was a memorable evening, this Great 

 Peacock evening. Coming from every direction 

 and apprised I know not how, here are forty lovers 

 eager to pay their respects to the marriageable 

 bride born that morning amid the mysteries of my 

 study. 1 



How could the news of the joyful event 

 have reached them? No doubt by some mys- 



1 Souvenirs, vn., pp. 139-41. The Life of the Cater- 

 pillar, chap, xi., " The Great Peacock " ; also Social Life 

 in the Insect World, chap. xiv. 

 262 



