The Old Weevils 



crowns. It is an emblem of Egypt, con- 

 quered by the veterans who founded the 

 colony. The beast typifying the Nile 

 gnashes its teeth at the foot of the familiar 

 tree. It speaks to us of Antony, the Don 

 Juan; it tells us of Cleopatra, whose nose, 

 had it been an inch shorter, would have 

 changed the face of the globe. Thanks to 

 the memories which it awakens, the scaly- 

 backed reptile becomes a superb historical 

 lesson. 



In this way, the important lessons of the 

 numismatics of metals might be continued for 

 many a day and be constantly varied without 

 departing from my immediate neighbour- 

 hood. But there is another science of numis- 

 matics, far superior and less costly, which, 

 with its medals, the fossils, tells us the his- 

 tory of life. I refer to the numismatics 

 of stones. 



My very window-sill, the confidant of by- 

 gone ages, talks to me of a vanished world. 

 It is, literally speaking, an ossuary, whose 

 every particle retains the imprint of past 

 lives. That block of stone has lived. 

 Prickly spines of Sea-urchins, teeth and verte- 

 brae of fish, broken pieces of shells and 



7 



