A WONDERFUL BOOK. 101 



ness. The number of the muscles alone, all de- 

 scribed and figured, is 4041 ; that of branchial 

 nerves and the trachial branches is infinitely 

 greater. The intestines are also shown with their 

 minutest details, and all given in engravings so 

 delicate, so admirably adapted to show the tissue 

 of the substances they represent, that the eye 

 seizes the whole with as much facility as though it 

 beheld the object itself through the medium of the 

 microscope. This book was pronounced by Bonnet, 

 a celebrated philosophic naturalist, to be one of 

 the most admirable demonstrations of the existence 

 of a First Cause ; nor will it lose its value so long 

 as entomology shall be cultivated as a science, or 

 the comparative anatomist trace with delight the 

 footsteps of Divine wisdom in the gradually vary- 

 ing structures of animals. 



So marvellous was the delicacy of some of his 

 experiments, that they at first appeared incredible, 

 and he was obliged, to satisfy the doubts of the 

 public, to exhibit them to skilful observers and 

 judges. It formed part of his design to illustrate 

 in a similar manner the anatomy of the chrysalis 

 and perfect moth ; but his labours were interrupted 

 by an accident which impaired his eyesight when 

 about sixty years of age. 



In relation to the experiments he made while 

 engaged in preparing his " Traite Anatomique de 



