64 CONVERSATIONS ON 



"And what have they been bleeding us 

 with ?" 



" Why, with a lancet, to be sure ; what 

 should a doctor use but a lancet to let blood ?" 



" And has the gnat really a lancet ?" 



" Yes, it has : this instrument forms a part 

 of what you may call the tongue of the gnat : 

 it is made up of five pieces, which are shut up 

 in a case, split from one end to the other ; 

 these give steadiness to the lancet when it is 

 used. But the reason of the pain is not so 

 much the wound of the lancet, as it is the 

 fluid or poisonous juice which the gnat puts 

 into the wound to make the blood thin enough 

 for the insect to suck it up through a tube or 

 case, which makes part of its mouth. Here 

 is a drawing of part of a gnat's mouth. 



