162 TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM. 



tinge of violet ; of a most lovely, shining, silvery 

 azure; the white fringe and Mack line within it 

 giving an exquisite finish to the delicate effect of the 

 light blue. The female is deep brown, with only a 

 slight flash of blue ; but, in exchange for the bright 

 azure of the male, she has a pretty orange border, 

 with black spots at the edge of the hind-wings. 

 The underside, nearly alike in both sexes, is similar, 

 though handsomer, to that of the more common 

 JP. Alexis, figured in Plate II., Nos. 4, 5, and 6. 



This has always been one of the most coveted 

 prizes of our entomological weavers — intelligent 

 working-men who enjoyed the study of insects long 

 before the beautiful works of Kirby and Spence, and 

 others, made it popular among the superior classes. 

 At the close of a week's ceaseless toil, the Spital- 

 fields weaver would, after work hours, take his net 

 and collecting-case, and trudge off his score of 

 miles in tbe long summer evenings to Darenth or 

 Birch Wood, arriving time enough to capture a 

 rich harvest of twilight-flying Moths, Avithout fear 

 of interruption from lords of the manor or their 

 gamekeepers; for, as Crabbe says, in one of his 

 inimitable poems — 



" He fears no bailiffs wrath, no baron's blame ; 

 His is untaxed and undisputed game." 



