BLUE ARGUS BUTTERFLY. 285 



the higher ranges of the air, and seeks his mate or 

 his food in the shelter of the hedge or the ditch, 

 amidst foliage and shade, where we may see him 

 hovering sedately around some flower, or passing 

 on his way with quiet steady flight, accordant with 

 the silence and twilight of the hour : companion of 

 the owl and the bat, his grave actions are quite 

 unsuitable to the gaiety, the flutter of a summer's 

 sun ; the former is emblematic of levity and dis- 

 play, the latter of retirement and shade. And thus 

 each, though but slightly seen, is in admirable har- 

 mony with the season in which it moves, manifesting 

 the peculiar fitness of things to their several stations 

 in this vast world of wisdom; an observation 

 obvious to all, and a truth every where admitted, 

 yet, as a Christian moralizer, I could not pass 

 by unheeded any evidence of foresight and of 

 power. 



Basking in the glare of an August or a July 

 sun, in our pastures we see the little elegant blue 

 argus butterfly (papilio argus), noted and admired 

 by all, now warmed into active life. A few of our 

 lepidopterous creatures, especially the common 

 white butterflies of our gardens, are contentious 

 animals, and drive away a rival from their haunts. 

 We see them progressively ascending into the air, 

 in ardent unheeding contest ; and thus they are ob- 

 served, captured, and consumed in a moment by 

 some watchful bird : but we have few more jealous 



