AND CLEANLINESS. 75 



SO as to rouse so inert an insect into action ! But it 

 is appointed one of the ^eat scavengers of the earth, 

 and marvellously endowed with powers of sensation, 

 and means of effecting the purpose of its being."* 



The same elegant writer remarks, " The perfect 

 clearJiness of these creatures is a very notable cir- 

 cumstance, when we consider that nearly their whole 

 lives are passed in burrowing the earth, and re- 

 moving nuisances ; yet, such is the admirable polish 

 of their coating and limbs, that we seldom find any 

 soil adhering to them. The meloe, and some of the 

 scarabsei, upon first emerging from their winter's 

 retreat, are commonly found with earth clinging to 

 them ; but the removal of this is one of the first 

 operations of the creature, and all the beetle race, 

 the chief occupation of which is crawling about the 

 soU. and such dirty employs, are, notwithstanding, 

 remarkable for the glossiness of their covering and 

 freedom from defilement of any kind. But purity of 

 vesture seems to be a principal precept of nature, and 

 observable throughout creation." f 



It is obvious from the various circumstances now 

 mentioned, that this humble beetle and its congeners 

 have been objects of interest to many cultivated 

 minds. They have furnished our poets with imagery, 

 which will live with our " land's language." They 

 * Pagre 319, third edition. t Page 321. 



