DIRECT INJURIES CAUSED BY INSECTS. 83 



I have now introduced you to the principal insects of the 

 Aptera order of Linne, which, in spite of all his care and all 

 his power, assail the lord of the creation, and make him their 

 food. You will here, however, perhaps accuse me of omitting 

 one very prominent annoyer of our comfort and repose, which 

 you think belongs to this tribe — the bed-bug ( Cimex lec- 

 tularius). When you are a more practised entomologist, 

 you will see clearly that this, though it has no wings, apper- 

 tains to another order: nevertheless it may be introduced 

 here without impropriety. Though now too common and 

 well known in this country, it was formerly a rare insect. 

 Had it not, two noble ladies, mentioned by Mouffet, would 

 scarcely have been thrown into such an alarm by the appear- 

 ance of bug-bites upon them ; which, until their fears were 

 dispelled by their physician, who happened also to be a 

 naturalist, they considered as nothing less than symptoms of 

 the plague. Being shown the living cause of their fright, 

 their fears gave place to mirth and laughter.^ Commerce, 

 with many good things, has also introduced amongst us many 

 great evils, of which noxious insects form no small part ; and 

 one of her worst presents were doubtless the disgusting 

 animals now before us. They seem, indeed, as the above 

 fact proves, to have been productive of greater alarm at first 

 than mischief, at least if we may judge from the change of 

 name which took place upon their becoming common. Their 

 original English name was Chinehe or Wall-louse ^ ; and the 

 term Bug, which is a Celtic word, signifying a ghost 

 or goblin, was applied to them after Ray's time, most pro- 

 bably because they were considered as terrors by night." ^ 

 But however horrible bugs may have been in the estimation 

 of some, or nauseating in that of others, many of the good 

 people of London seem to regard them with the greatest 



1 Theatr. Ins. 270. This happened in 1503 ; which circumstance refutes 

 Southall's opinion that bugs were not known in England before ] 670. 



2 Rai, Hist. Ins. 7. MoufFet, 269. They were called also punez, from the 

 French punaise. 



3 Hence our English word Bug-bear. In Matthews's Bible, Ps. xci. 5. is 

 rendered, " Thou shalt not nede to be afraid of any bugs by night." The word 

 in this sense often occurs in Shakspeare, Winter's Tale, act iii. sc. 2, 3. Hen. VI. 

 act V. sc. 2. Hamlet, act v. sc. 2. See Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare, i. 329. 

 in quoting which work it may be observed that the author was a zealous ento- 

 mologist. (Life in Annual Obituary.') 



a 2 



