 | The fiend's delight |  |
Insects.
Every one has observed a solitary ant breasting
a current of his fellows as he retraces his steps to
pack off something he has forgotten. At each
meeting with a neighbour there is a mutual pause,
and the two confront each other for a moment,
reaching out their delicate antennæ, and making a
critical examination of one another's person. This
the little creature repeats with tireless persistence
to the end of his journey.
As with the ant, so with the other insect—the
sprightly “female of our species.” It is really
delightful to watch the line frenzy of her lovely
eye as she notes the approach of a woman more
gorgeously arrayed than herself, or the triumphant
of a poorly clad sister. How contemplatively she
lingers upon each detail of attire—with what keen
penetration she takes in the general effect at a sweep!
And this suggests the fearful thought—what
would the darlings do if they wore no clothes?
One-half their pleasure in walking on the street
would vanish like a dream, and an equal proportion
of the philosopher's happiness in watching
them would perish in the barren prospect of an
inartistic nudity.
| The fiend's delight | |