AN ECCENTRIC PRECENTOR 



August i8th 



ORCHESTRA is complete, of 

 course, without its leader. Even 

 the "first fiddle" must observe the 

 baton. And as the insect world 

 affords us a veritable fiddler and a 

 harpist, as well as other instrumen- 

 talists, so too may we find our precentor close at hand, 

 if our eyes are only sharp enough. This group of sing- 

 ing beetles upon the poplar branch, I wonder if they 

 are watching him as they nod their squeaky trio ? For 

 he is close at hand. Even among these very leaves we 

 are sure to find him with a little search. But if they 

 are indeed observing him, he must be a decidedly con- 

 fusing leader, for no two of the bobbing heads are keep- 

 ing the same time. Ah, here he is! perched upon the 

 mid-stem of an aspen leaf close by. You have seen him, 

 perhaps, a hundred times, and all his pompous pride 

 has been wasted on you, being doubtless mistaken for 

 a part of a withered or curled leaf. Our precentor is 

 about an inch and a quarter long. The forepart of his 



