150 UP AND DOWN THE BROOKS. 



time, He used to ascend to the top of his hole 

 occasionally in the twilight, but he was a timid 

 young fellow, and never became acquainted with 

 me. 



It is hard to wait for such a creature as Cory- 

 dalus. He disappears in the earth, it falls over 

 his much-branched body, and you see him no 

 more. Days go by, fifteen, sixteen, twenty of 

 them. You grow nervous. You wonder what he 

 is doing in the lower regions of that flower-pot. 

 You feel possessed to dig down and see him. 

 You know exactly how the little boy feels when 

 he has planted his first seed and longs to dig it 

 up and see if it has begun to grow. You hunt 

 up Corydalus in books, and you find Hagen say- 

 ing: "The reason that the larva of Corydalus has 

 both branchiae and spiracles is, that it lives, like 

 Sialis, some weeks out of the water before its 

 transformation." 



You heave a sigh and shut the book. The 

 gloomy thought oppresses you that perhaps Cory- 

 dalus has not transformed into anything. Per- 

 haps he looks just as he did when he last saw the 

 light. It is very discouraging, but you remember 

 what damage was done to the Water-tiger larva 

 by digging down to see him, and you bide your 

 time, or Corydalus' time, rather. You console 

 yourself by reflecting that at least Corydalus did 

 not require you to dig his hole for him. A box- 

 ful of these creatures would be much like that 



