Beautiful Butterflies. 51 



natural to your age and good for your health to do so, 

 and follow 



"The little fly with wings of sunbeams," 



from end to end of the green meadow, but do not 

 attempt to catch it ; let it be to you as a sacred thing, 

 sent by God to beautify the earth, and delight your 

 eyes, but by no means to be wantonly injured or de- 

 stroyed. 



I should like to repeat to you many beautiful poems 

 which have been written on the Butterfly, and many 

 striking observations that have been made on it by 

 naturalists, such as Messrs. Kirby and Spence, whose 

 admirable work on Entomology I hope you will read 

 when you are older, but I cannot do so now, as my 

 book is but a small one, and I shall want all the avail- 

 able space to describe the species of which figures are 

 given. In the poems above spoken of allusion is some- 

 times made to the Butterfly as a fop — a light careless 

 thing ; thus Thompson says — 



" While a gay insect in his summer shine, 

 The fop, light fluttering, spreads his mealy wings.' ' 



The same poet too, in his c Castle of Indolence,' 

 speaks of it as an emblem of pleasure : — 



