'Hast thou the pretty worm of Nilus there , 

 That kilie and pains not ? " 



AJTTOiTY AiJD CLEOPATK&, ACT 



I SHALL now, my dear Arnold, in this and in my 

 subsequent letters, bring before you some of the par- 

 ticulars relative to the natural history of those insects 

 mentioned in Shakspeare's plays. From the writings 

 of eminent entomologists, or from extracts from works 

 which are not generally accessible to the inhabitants 

 of a provincial town, I have at various times received 

 much of the information they may contain. In some 

 instances I have copied in my note book the passage 

 in which any remarkable fact was embodied. These 



