The Massacre of the Males 
ing on themselves, they will drag the 
whole group round and round in wild 
circles, which exhaustion soon brings to 
anend. And, in a very brief space, their 
appearance becomes so deplorable that 
pity, never far from justice in the depths 
of our heart, quickly returns, and would 
seek forgiveness, though vainly, of the 
stern workers who recognise only nature’s 
harsh and profound laws. The wings of 
the wretched creatures are torn, their 
antenne bitten, the segments of their legs 
wrenched off; and their magnificent eyes, 
mirrors once of the exuberant flowers, 
flashing back the blue light and the inno- 
cent pride of summer, now, softened ‘by 
suffering, reflect only the anguish and 
distress of their end. Some succumb to 
their wounds, and are at once borne away 
to distant cemeteries by two or three of 
their executioners. Others, whose injuries 
are less, succeed in sheltering themselves 
23 353 
