36 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 



of a gentleman being thrown into a horrible fright by- 

 digging some of the curious cases, which I shall hereafter 

 describe to you, of the leaf-cutter bees, and which he 

 conceived to be the effect of witchcraft portending some 

 terrible misfortune. By the advice of the priest of the 

 parish he even took a journey from Rouen to Paris, to 

 show them to his master : but he, happily having more 

 sense than the man, carried them to M. Nollet, an emi- 

 nent naturalist, who having seen similar productions was 

 aware of the cause, and opening one of the cases, while 

 the gardener stood aghast at his temerity, pointed out 

 the grub that it contained, and thus sent him back with 

 a light heart, relieved from all his apprehensions 3 . 



Every one has heard of the death-watch, and knows 

 of the superstitious notion of the vulgar, that in whatever 

 house its drum is heard one of the family will die before 

 the end of the year. These terrors, in particular in- 

 stances, where they lay hold of weak minds, especially 

 of sick or hypochondriac persons, may cause the event 

 that is supposed to be prognosticated. A small degree 

 of entomological knowledge would relieve them from all 

 their fears, and teach them that this heart-sickening tick 

 is caused by a small beetle (Anobium tessellatum, F.) which 

 lives in timber, and is merely a call to its companion. 

 Attention to Entomology may therefore be rendered very 

 useful in this view, since nothing certainly is more desi- 

 rable than to deliver the human mind from the dominion 

 of superstitious fears, and false notions, which havino- 

 considerable influence on the conduct of mankind are the 

 cause of no small portion of evil. 



But as we cannot well guard against the injuries pro- 

 d Reaum. vi. 99-100. Kirby Man. Ap. Ang. i. 157-8, 



