The Old Weevils 



amid the roughness of their chalky matrix. 

 What shall we say of these frail Midges 

 enshrined intact in their marly reliquary? 

 The feeble creature, which our fingers could 

 not pick up without crushing it, remains un- 

 disturbed beneath the weight of the moun- 

 tains ! The six slender legs, which the least 

 touch is enough to disjoint, lie spread upon 

 the stone, correct in shape and arrangement, 

 in the attitude of the insect at rest. There 

 is nothing lacking, not even the tiny double 

 claws at the end of the tarsi. Here are the 

 two wings, unfurled. The fine network of 

 their veins can be studied under the lens as 

 clearly as in the Fly of our collections, stuck 

 on a pin. The antennary plumes have lost 

 none of their fragile grace; the abdomen 

 gives us the number of the segments, edged 

 with a row of specks which once were cilia. 



Even the carcase of a Mastodon, defying 

 time in its sandy bed, fills us with amaze- 

 ment; a Gnat of exquisite delicacy, preserved 

 intact in the thickness of the rock, staggers 

 our imagination. 



Certainly, the Mosquito, borne along by 

 the floods, did not come from far away. 

 Before he arrived, some turbulent streamlet 

 15 



