Correspondents and Critics. 277 



times, and usually only call forth mild execra- 

 tion, as they annoy us, while reading. Have 

 you frequently, indeed, ever, met with the man 

 or woman who laid aside newspaper or embroid- 

 ery for a time to see how many species were 

 to be gathered by merely extending an arm ? I 

 never met with such a one save once ; yet it is 

 an incontrovertible fact that no more profitable 

 evening can be spent than in an artless way 

 studying the entomology of the library table. 

 No one is so free of the earth, earthy, as not to 

 "cuss" a mosquito, but how often are they in- 

 telligently discussed ? 



It is not an exaggeration to say that conster- 

 nation fills the room if a spider drops from the 

 ceiling, and through fear the room is emptied 

 if a mouse runs from a corner. Had we, even 

 if ever so little, interpreted Nature or even 

 tried to do so and failed, would not such exhi- 

 bitions of our silliness be impossible? We 

 read in the daily papers too often vehicles of 

 distorted facts harrowing accounts of blood- 

 poisoning following bites of mice, spiders, and 

 even the scratch of kitty's claws, but what are 

 the chances really of being bitten by a mouse 



