INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 11 



ornament of these privileged tribes ; in other respects 

 she has been equally unsparing of her favours. To 

 some she has given fins like those of fish, or a beak re- 

 sembling that of birds a ; to others horns, nearly the 

 counterparts of those of various quadrupeds. The bull b , 

 the stag c , the rhinoceros d , and even the hitherto vainly 

 sought for unicorn e , have in this respect many repre- 

 sentatives amongst insects. One is armed with tusks 

 not unlike those of the elephant f ; another is bristled 

 with spines, as the porcupine and hedge-hog with quills s ; 

 a third is an armadillo in miniature ; the disproportioned 

 hind legs of the kangaroo give a most grotesque appear- 

 ance to a fourth h ; and the threatening head of the snake 

 is found in a fifth '. It would, however, be endless to 

 produce all the instances which occur of such imitations ; 

 and I shall only remark that, generally speaking, these 

 arms and instruments in structure and finishing far ex- 

 ceed those which they resemble. 



But further, insects not only mimic, in a manner in- 

 finitely various, every thing in nature, they may also 

 with very little violence be regarded as symbolical of 

 beings out of and above nature. The butterfly, adorned 

 with every beauty and every grace, borne by radiant 

 wings through the fields of ether, and extracting nectar 

 from every flower, gives us some idea of the blessed in- 

 habitants of happier worlds, of angels, and of the spirits 

 of the just arrived at their state of perfection. Again, 



a Empis, L. Asilus, L. b Copris Taurus, F. 



c Lucanus Cervus, L. d Oryctes, Latr. 



e Dynastes Hercules, Macleay. f Melitta spinigera, Kirby. 



g Hispa, L. h Cetonia macropus, Mus. 



' RapMdla ophiopsis, L. Francill. 



