128 A TOUE ROUND MY GAEDEN. 



anthropophagi, who, on account of their size, are not able to 

 eat up a man at a single repast, but who, nevertheless, feed 

 greedily upon his blood. I am in the midst of them, and 

 remain quietly; I examine them; I study their manners; I 

 sacrifice myself for the instruction of other men ! 



I speak of a kind of ferocious beast, wliich flies and pounces 

 down upon man with the velocity of lightning, seizes and 

 fastens upon his naked flesh, and plunges an instrument into 

 him of which this is the agreeable nature. From an ttui, or 

 case situated on his head, there issue flve or six weapons, some 

 dentillated and barbed, others pointed or trenchant. When 

 he has sufficiently scarified our flesh with each of these blades, 

 which are all hollow, he proceeds to suck as much of our 

 blood as his intestines can contain, which he takes care, the 

 while, to free from all that could occupy room or cause incon- 

 venience. 



This animal is known under the general name of gnat, and 

 it requires a very strong microscope to see and ascertain the - 

 forms of its weapons; but if we consider the injury it does 

 us, not relatively to the pain we suifer, but proportionally 

 to its size, relatively to the manner in which it proceeds, to 

 its voracity, which leads it to expose itself to death, without 

 an efibrt to shun it, when it has once tasted our blood, and 

 until it can contain no more, until it is swelled like a wine 

 skin, and not to be recognised; if we consider also the cruel 

 shape of its weapons, which, in addition, are all poisoned, as is 

 proved by the irritation and tumours which their wounds 

 cause — it must be confessed that we do not know in nature 

 any animal so ferocious and sanguinary. 



Eeclined upon the grass, and leaning over a part of the 

 rivulet which has overflowed its banks a little upon the turf, 

 and has left a strip of stagnant water, my attention is attracted 

 by Some singular little fish; they have something of the 

 shape, and are about the size of a strong pin, of which, with 

 its head, two-thirds of its length have been cut off; or rather 

 tboy are little fish resembUng the dolphins of fable, the dol- 

 phins of painters, the dolphins of Arion, but reduced to the 

 size of a large pin's head. They are remarkably vivacious. 

 When in repose, they allow themselves to float on the surface 

 of the water, with their heads downwards, because the con- 



