THE COMMON LOUSE. 465 



visible, as well as the ramifications of the tracheae 

 or respiratory tubes, which appear dispersed in a 

 most beautiful manner throughout various parts of 

 the animal. 



Scarcely any creature multiplies so quickly as 

 tins unwelcome intruder. It has been pleasantly 

 said that a Louse becomes a grandfather in the space 

 of twenty-four hours. This fact cannot be ascer- 

 tained ; but nothing is more true than that the mo- 

 ment the nit, which is no other than the egg of the 

 Louse, gets rid of its superfluous moisture, and 

 throws off its shell, it begins to breed in its turn. 

 Nothing so much prevents the increase of this 

 nauseous animal as cold, and want of humidity. 

 The nits, unless they are laid in a place that is 

 warm, do not produce any thing; and from this it 

 is that many of the nits laid on the hairs in the 

 night-time are destroyed by the cold of the succeed- 

 ing day. 



In Mexico these animals were so numerous that 

 the ancient kings found no other means of ridding 

 their subjects of them than by the imposition of 

 an annual tribute of a certain quantity. Ferdinand 

 Cortes found bags full of them in the palace of 

 Montezuma. 



" This is a creature (says Albin) so officious that 

 it will be known to every one at one time or other, 

 so busy, and so impudent, that it will be intruding 

 itself into every one's company ; and withal, so 

 proud and aspiring, that it fears not to trample on 

 the best, and affects nothing so much as a crown. 

 It feeds and lives very high ; and that makes it so 



vol. in. Hh 



