FREQUEXTLY MEXTIOXED BY SHAKSPEARE. 205 



France, " That 's a valiant flea that dare eat his 

 breakfast on the lip of a Hon."* Sir Toby Belch 

 indicates his opinion of the valour, or rather of the 

 want of valour, in Sir Andrew Ague-cheek, by the 

 assertion, " If he were opened, and )^ou find so much 

 blood in his liver as will clog the foot of a flea, I'll 

 eat the rest of the anatomy." f And Mrs, Ford shows 

 she has been a witness to the execution of at least 

 one of these " wild fowl," when she exclaims, as her 

 jealous husband searches the clothes basket, " If you 

 find a man there he shall die a flea's death." + How- 

 ever, all these authorities may not inspire you with 

 any admiration for the insect. Even its astonishing 

 strength, sufficient to draw miniature coaches and 

 cannon, and its leaps, so disproportionate to its size, 

 may fad to make you regard it with complacence. 

 To you, the old lady mentioned by Kirby and Spence 

 may appear to have been singular in her taste, when 

 she exclaimed — " Dear, miss, don't you like fleas ! 

 well, I think they are the prettiest little, merry things 

 in the world. I never saw a dull flea in aU my 

 life." § If such be the case, I shall not ask you to 

 forego your old opinions ; but I trust, when you are 



* Henry V., Ac/ III. Sc. VII. 



t Twelfth Night, Act III. tic. II. 



i. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV. Sc. II. 



§ Introduction, vol. i. p. 100. 



