The Old Weevils 
amid the roughness of their chalky matrix. 
What shall we say of these frail Midges 
enshrined intact in their marly reliquary? 
The feeble creature, which our fingers could 
not pick up without crushing it, remains un- 
disturbed beneath the weight of the moun- 
tains! The six slender legs, which the least 
touch is enough to disjoint, lie spread upon 
the stone, correct in shape and arrangement, 
in the attitude of the insect at rest. There 
is nothing lacking, not even the tiny double 
claws at the end of the tarsi. Here are the 
two wings, unfurled. The fine network of 
their veins can be studied under the lens as 
clearly as in the Fly of our collections, stuck 
ona pin. The antennary plumes have lost 
none of their fragile grace; the abdomen 
gives us the number of the segments, edged 
with a row of specks which once were cilia. 
Even the carcase of a Mastodon, defying 
time in its sandy bed, fills us with amaze- 
ment; a Gnat of exquisite delicacy, preserved 
intact in the thickness of the rock, staggers 
our imagination. 
Certainly, the Mosquito, borne along by 
the floods, did not come from far away. 
Before he arrived, some turbulent streamlet 
15 
