'pivot-men," whom we saw on the flanks, and who would not permit any one to straggle. (This is a circumstance known to everybody who has seen a file of ants on the march.)

10. Suddenly the mass seemed to sink and disappear. There was no sign of ant-hills in the turf; but after a while we detected an almost imperceptible orifice, through which we saw them vanish in less time than it takes me to write these words. We asked ourselves if it was an entrance to their domicile; if they had re-entered their city. In a minute at the utmost they gave us a reply, and showed us our mistake. They issued in a throng, each carrying a captive in its mandibles.

11. From the short time they had taken, it was evident that they had a previous knowledge of the localities, the place where the eggs were deposited, the time when they were to assemble, and the degree of resistance they had to expect. Perhaps it was not their first journey. The little blacks on whom the red ants made this raid sallied out in considerable numbers; and I truly pitied them. They did not attempt to fight. They seemed frightened and stunned. They only endeavored to delay the red ants by clinging to them. A red ant was thus stopped; but another red one, who was free, relieved him of his burden, and thereupon the black ant relaxed his grasp.

At

12. It was, in fact, a pitiful scene. The blacks offered no serious resistance. The five hundred red ants succeeded in carrying off nearly three hundred children two or three feet from the hole, the blacks ceased to pursue them, abandoned all hope, and resigned themselves to their fate. All this did not occupy ten minutes between the departure and the return. The two parties were very

unequal. It was very probably an outrage often repeated, - a tyranny of the great, who levied a tribute of children from their poor little neighbors.

100.

MICHELET.

Across an ant-hill led

The king's path, and he heard

Its small folk, and their word He thus interpreted :

"Here comes the king men greet As wise and good and just,

To crush us in the dust Under his heedless feet."

The great king bowed his head,
And saw the wide surprise

Of the Queen of Sheba's eyes
As he told her what they said.

"O king!" she whispered sweet, "Too happy fate have they Who perish in thy way

Beneath thy gracious feet!

"Thou of the God-lent crown, Shall these vile creatures dare Murmur against thee where

The knees of kings kneel down?"

1. WHEN the caterpillar has attained its full size, it crawls to the under-part of a branch, and spins a little

knob of silk, of which it takes hold with its hindmost false legs it then spins a girdle, composed of many contiguous

threads of silk, fastened at each end; making a bow large enough to admit the body, and intended to support the chrysalis. This, when finished, the caterpillar puts over its head. It continues in this state about two days and a half, during which time it has gradually lost its power or holding on by the feet, and rests with its whole weight upon the knob and cincture of silk. It now casts off its caterpillar skin, and enters the chrysalis state.

2. By good fortune we were happy enough to see this change take place in one of our captives. The caterpillar appearing very uneasy and restless, we watched it at intervals for about half an hour; when, by strong and apparently painful inflations, a slit was made in the back of the third ring or segment, and the chrysalis forced itself through; gradually extending the slit forwards, till the head was split and separated, and backwards for several rings. The skin was then gradually pushed down. We had wondered how it would get through this part of the business, for the weight of the caterpillar pressed the silken girth very tightly round the body; but there seemed no real difficulty, the loose skin being worked backwards by the motion of the segments.

CATERPILLAR

3. When it was pushed down to the extremity, the tail of the chrysalis was thrust out underneath, and pressed upwards to take hold of the little knob of silk; this being done, the old skin was thrown off by the writhing of the body. The silken cord was now round the body between the sixth and seventh rings, and the chrysalis twisted and