he spray which dashes from her sides. A broad stream
of light illumines the sea in her wake, and she appears to plough up
fire in her rush through the darkened water.

The simple friction of the moving mass agitates the millions of
luminous animalcules contained in the water; in the same manner a fish
darting through the sea is distinctly seen by the fiery course which is
created by his own velocity.

All luminous insects are provided with a certain amount of
phosphorescent fluid, which can be set in action at pleasure by the
agitation of a number of nerves and muscles situated in the region of
the fluid and especially adapted to that purpose. It is a common
belief that the light of the glow-worm is used as a lamp of love to
assist in nocturnal meetings, but there can be little doubt that the
insect makes use of its natural brilliancy without any specific
intention. It is as natural for the fire-fly to glitter by night as
for the colored butterfly to be gaudy by day.

The variety of beautiful and interesting insects is so great in Ceylon
that an entomologist would consider it a temporary elysium; neither
would he have much trouble in collecting a host of different species
who will exhibit themselves without the necessity of a laborious
search. Thus, while he may be engaged in pinning out some rare
specimen, a thousand minute eye-flies will be dancing so close to his
eyeballs that seeing is out of the question. These little creatures,
which are no larger than pin's heads, are among the greatest plagues in
some parts of the jungle; and what increases the annoyance is the
knowledge of the fact that they dance almost into your eyes out of
sheer vanity. They are simply admiring their own reflection in the
mirror of the eye; or, may be, some mistake their own reflected forms
for other flies performing the part of a "vis-a-vis" in their
unwearying quadrille.

A cigar is a specific against these small plagues, and we will allow
that the patient entomologist has just succeeded in putting them to
flight and has resumed the occupation of setting out his specimen. Ha!
see him spring out of his chair as though electrified. Watch how,
regardless of the laws of buttons, he frantically tears his trowsers
from his limbs; he has him! no he hasn't!--yes he has!--no--no,
positively he cannot get him off. It is a tick no bigger than a grain
of sand, but his bite is like a red-hot needle boring into the skin.
If all the royal fa