MRS. COATES'S BATH. 75 



a bite or two taken out of its stomach, where it cannot 

 brush away its adversary. Then the water-beetles are 

 quite ready to eat each other should no better prey 

 offer itself, while they ordinarily feed upon water-boat- 

 men, water-gnats, and various larvse. Yet, with all 

 this mutual destruction, the creatures are not in the 

 least afraid of each other, and a whirlwig larva will, for 

 example, swim deliberately in front of a newt or a 

 water-beetle, though its destruction is almost certain. 

 I cannot but think that they do not look upon such a 

 death as we do, and that the larger predacious creatures 

 are to the smaller somewhat as disease and accidents 

 are to ourselves something which cannot be foreseen 

 or avoided, and which has no terror until it actually 

 comes to pass. 



One more predacious insect, and we will conclude 

 with two which are vegetarians, and which, though 

 they find no food in their comrades o'f the pond, some- 

 times furnish it. I felt sure that in ' Mrs. Coates's 

 Bath ' the larva of at least one species of dragon-fly was 

 likely to be found, and a part of a cast skin of a dragon- 

 fly larva which I found in my net confirmed the theory. 

 There were some rather large patches of duck-weed 

 floating in the pond, which I thought were likely 

 haunts for the creatures. Accordingly I put the net 

 quietly under the duck-weed, drew it smartly with its 

 edge against the floating plant, and at the very first 

 dip secured three dragon-fly larvae, all belonging to the 

 genus JEshna, and being, indeed, the larvas of 



