1 84 THE MASKED KNIGHT. 



Well, it is a singular animal; greenish in colour, bristling 

 with hairs, and covered with mud. It is not a spider, for it 

 has only six legs and these are exactly like the legs of insects* 

 I can distinctly make out three joints (articulations) to each 

 tarsus, which terminates in a simple hook. The belly is 

 formed of regular segments ; is rounded above, and flat under- 

 neath. What do I see? On the top, and nearly in the 

 middle, each ring is armed with a spine, so that the row of 

 spiny projections remind one of the back of a crocodile. 

 Pray tell me, what is this curious creature ? 



Before I tell you, I would have you more thoroughly ac- 

 quainted with it. Continue your examination. 



The face has a strange expression ; it looks the insect, I 

 mean like a masked knight. Its mask, formed of a scaly 

 substance and thoroughly compact, is composed of two 

 pieces, which are separated from one another by a transversal 

 suture : the upper, which is broader than it is high, we may 

 call the vizor; it consists of two lobes, soldered together 

 longitudinally; the lower, which is higher than it is broad, 

 will be the chin-piece ; it is triangular in shape, and its base 

 rests against the vizor, while the summit is jointed or articu- 

 lated with a support, which acts as a hinge when the mask is 

 raised or lowered. 



These movements, let me tell you, are voluntary; the 

 animal raises its mask to arrest on their way the Infusoria and 

 other animalcules on which it feeds. For crushing them, it 

 is provided with strong mandibles, which you can detect by 

 lowering the mask with a pin, or the point of a penknife. The 



