LIVING TRIBUTE. 209 



night, till, in spite of every remedy, all the flesh of her body 

 was consumed, and death relieved her. 



Mouffet supposes that the insects were generated by drink- 

 ing too copiously of goat's milk ; a cause seemingly not im- 

 probable, from a species of this insect* being sometimes found 

 in milk. 



As connected with kings and rulers, 'we must advert to the 

 tributary lice of the ancient kings of Mexico and incas of 

 Peru, of whom It has been related, that they found no other 

 means of ridding their subjects of these infestors, save by 

 the animal imposition of a tribute to consist of a certain quan- 

 tum of the living " specie!" 1 Bags full of them were found by 

 Cortez in the palace of Montezuma and in the magazines of 

 King Axajacatil. 



Torquemada and other historians assign, however, to this 

 strange poll-tax, a motive very different to the above. It was 

 imposed, say they, only on beggars, because Montezuma, who 

 could not suffer idleness in any of his subjects, was determin- 

 ed that even those wretched people who would not labour 

 should be thus employed. 



Eeader, have thy midnight slumbers ever been disturbed 

 by ghost or goblin ? Unless thou art of the few whose 

 " visionary eyes " have been opened, thou wilt most likely re- 

 spond in the negative ; and yet thou must have been favoured 

 almost above the common lot, if a "fearful shape," whose 



* Acarus lactis. 



