Fig. 8. The male glow-worm, viewed on the upper part. Fig. 9. The fame, viewed on the under Fig. 6. The fame magnified, viewed on the under part; the two rings that terminate the belly of the animal, and yield light, are of a different colour; on the infect, they difpart: It appears that the belly of the male play a beautiful citron-colour. is compofed of rings intirely refembling in form thofe of a glow-worm. (Fig. 7.) Fig. 7. The lampyris or glow-worm of France: It is the female that emits light. ON an evening of the month of Sep. lodge in a deep groove funk beneath the tember 1766, the weather being mild and ferene, two women faw a light defcend and reft on the crofs-work of a cafement of a house in the fuburbs of St. Anthony at Pa ris. This light they compared, by its fplendor, to thole fires which are commonly known by the name of falling fars; and, perceiving it to laft without diminution, they apprised of it the people of the house. They went to the cafement, and found that it was an infect which emitted the light, and their eyes could scarce bear its brightness. They catched and fhut it up. Several faw it without being able to determine its clafs and genus; and it was then given me in charge. This infect having been found in the time of the Academy's vacation, I was deprived of the pleasure of their fentiments in regard to the fplendid appearance it made. I fhewed it, however, to M. de Juffieu, who was much taken with the beauty of its light. After comparing this infect with those preferved in the cabinets of the Curious, I judged it to be originally from Cayenne. The fingularity of finding at Paris an infect that was an inhabitant of so remote a country deserved to have fome mention made of it, and I believe that the beauty of the phofphoric light it yields, which few authors have fpoken of, required I should have a more exact drawing of it taken, than had been hitherto Brown in his Natural History of Jamaica, page 432, plate 44, fig. 10, has given a drawing of it and defcription under the name name of Elater major fufcus phof phoricus.' This beetle, called by M. Von-Linne *elater,' is known commonly by the name of marechal and by M. Geoffroi, under that of taupin. The genus of elaters is common in the invirons of Paris, but the fpecies defcribed here is peculiar to Cayenne; a finaller but luminous fpecies is known alfo at St. Domingo. That of Cayenne is 18 lines long, (fig. 1, z, and 3.) Its head is fomewhat broader than fong a; it has two lines of breadth; its eyes bare large and black; its feelers c have ten articulations, and are 2 lines long; they head where there are two small filaments, fig. z. The corflet forms a fort of long fquare, of which the two angles dend in a very sharp point: It terminates underneath by a long pointe (ibid.) Which, entering into a ca vity placed at the upper part next the belly, gives it that fpring and elafticity, which per mit the animal to dart into the air, to leap when placed on the back, and to return to place itself on its legs. The spring, which characterifes this genus of infect, has acquired for it the name of marechal; but there is no occafion to explain a motion fo well known in this kind of infect, fo that we may confine ourselves chiefly to the light it emits. The body ƒ of the infect is rr lines long; it is furnished with two hard fcales, that cover two membranous wings; it is of a coffee-colour, bordering upon cinnamon; it has fix legs, of which two are on the corflet and four on the thorax. The glow worm is almoft the only of terreftrial infects that emits light in our climate. I do not here speak of the scolopendra or millepedes, which, fometimes bruifed, yields alfo light in darkness; none of these lights is comparable to the brightnefs of that of the infects of Cayenne. The part, from whence the light iffues, is placed on each fide of the corflet g, and near the points or horns of the corflet; the form of the luminous part varies according as the animal emits a more or lefs ftrong light: It is nearly of the fame colour with that of glow-worms, but by its vivacity and splendor refembles the most beautiful emerald. Thele two luminous parts are two real lanthorns. The animal, put into a corner of paper in a dark place, yields fufficient light, for reading the finalleft character, and spreads about it an atmosphere of light of upwards of four or five inches in diameter. The upper part of thefe lanthorns runs a little upon the infect's corflet, and they are covered with fmall thin plates, through which the phofphoric light finds a paflage; on the corlet, above thefe two luminous parts, appear two fmall cavities. When the infect is held between two fingers, and looked at under the belly, there fometimes pafles out a very brifk light near the feparation of the corflet, and between the first ring of its belly. This light would have appeared alfo undoubtedly between the rings of the body, as M. Brown obferved, if the scales had been taken away; but we did not dare to fubject our infect to that trial, for fear of too much harraffing him. We know that this infect is originally from Cayenne; but how could he abandon the hot climates of the torrid zone, and come to furprife us with his appearance? This queftion I believe I can answer without leaving any room for doubt, This infect, before becoming a beetle, is known to remain fome time under the form of a maggot, and to feed upon wood which he gnaws into, having introduced himself therein when quite young. There are feveral in the fuburbs of St. Anthony that work in the wood of the islands, and there are in the fame part warehouses for the wood of Cayenne till it is fold off. Might not it be faid, almoft with certainty, that the infect we speak of had paffed the feas in a warm and favourable feafon under the form of a maggot fubfifting in the Cayenne wood; and that at Paris he underwent the metamorphofis he was deftined to by nature, being there changed into a beetle, to permit us to admire and judge of the beauty of his phofphoric light? The life of this infect lafted at least thirty days, for I cannot know how many he lived before the discovery I made of him. If one had at the fame time the other individual, it would have been perhaps poffible to inrich the natural hiftory of our country with a new fpecies of infects, and be under no apprehenfion that its multiplication would be prejudicial to our productions. We may be in a great meafure affured that every country has its luminous infect. There is in France a worm mentioned by several authors. It is well known that the female creeps and remains always under the form of a worm; that it is the alone that emits light, whilft the male, which flies under the form of a beetle, is no ways luminous. The light points out to the male the female's habitation, and invites his approaches. I often catched the female in the evenings of the fpring-feafon with the male, and they copulated on my hand: Then it was that I could obferve a fact, which has hitherto, I believe, been unnoticed. This beetle, which is not commonly luminous, emits light when catched a little time after copulation, I made a drawing of the glow-worm, which is the female (fig. 7.) and of the male that gives light only in the above cited circum ftance. (fig. 8 and 9.) See the obfervations of Richard Waller in the Philofophical Tranfactions, and the Theatre of Infects of Mouffet. The female, (fig 7.) called pyrolampis, cicindela, has fix very fhort feet. The body is fomewhat flat and compofed of 12 rings, which are very diftinct. Some of these infects are of different length and bulk. The male (fig, 8 and 9.) has longer legs than the female: The corflet is divided from the body. He has four wings not fo long as his body; the two that are fcaly are thin and flexible: The head is flattifh, the eyes large, che five rings that compofe his body are intirely like thofe of the female: Hereby he is diftinguished from feveral others that refemble him in other refpects. This glow-worm is also common in Italy, but is not the only luminous one known there; for there are others that have the power of moving about in the air, and prefent us with this phosphoric phænomenon in a more complete manner. The first time that, in Italy, I faw thefe floating fires, fometimes difappearing, in an inftant after much brighter, when the infect's wings difplayed or hid the luminous part, L had the greatest defire of knowing what gave, occafion to this pretty fight. It is no difhcult matter to multiply_at Rome obfervations on this luminous infect : The parterres, the bottoms of walls, have plenty of thein. At dusk the infect appears; he flies low and flow; he emits gleam of light at every stroke of his wings, and, as this light ferves for difcovering him, it is eafy to catch him. The children in the freets lay them on their face and cloaths, and to divert themselves. The character of this infect greatly refembles the genus of cantharides of M. VonLinne, and the cicindela of M. Geoffroy ; but it seems to me to be still more conformable to the character which determines the genus of lampyris, and that the lucciola of Italy bears fome refemblance, in the upper part of the body, to the male of our glowworm: The part of the thorax of the latter is that which distinguishes it essentially from the male of our lampyris. The lucciola (fig. 4, 5, and 6.) is about five lines long; the fcaly wings (4) are foft and of a brown colour; the corflet (3) is of a red cinnamon colour, flat, and flides to the fcaly wings; the head (1) is large and black, the feelers are flender, the belly (s) is compofed of rings of the fame colour as the fcaly wings, and, towards the point of that part, the two laft (5 and 6) are of a citron colour; it is thefe that thine or diffufe light Aaa 2 when when the animal pleases; and then the phofphoric matter, which is internal, appears and makes that part very luminous. The animal has fix legs (6 and 7,) two of which have their infertions on the corflet, and the four others on the thorax ; he five articula tions of the lampyris to all the legs diftinguilh, according to M. Geoffroy, that genus from the cantharides. One of thefe infects, being bruifed, leaves a train of light on the hand or paper, and this light continues to appear for fome minutes. 1 endeavoured to put fome of that luminous liquid into oil of cloves, without being able to diffolve it, and fo make the oil lumi nous. Brandy is unfavourable for preferving the light of thefe infects. They have lived three days fhut up in a bottle and shined in it. Paper rubbed with the body of the infect gives light. By wetting the paper that does not shine, the light appears again to difappear afterwards totally. All these infects appeared to us in the fame figure and fize, and intirely alike. We greatly defired to fee them copulate, or go in queft of the other individual; but we were not fortunate enough in this refpect, and I know of no author who has inipected into their metamorphofis. 1 At night, we did not fee ever a glowworm in the place where great numbers of of the lucciola were found, and in the day. time, notwithstanding the molt diligent fearch, we could not find the latter, fo common in the evening and at night. Attending, however, to the essential differences in the thorax of our lampyris and the luc ciola, there is no room for belief that the lacciola is the male of the lampyris, which would diftinguish itself in Italy by emitting light, whilft in France it exhibited nothing of the like. It was ftill cold when we firft found lucciola's in Italy. That evening we had but between 7 and 8 degrees of heat. When we afterwards obferved it at Rome, the weather was mild and ferene. From Naples, and undoubtedly beyond, as far as the Alps, the fame infect is found. I therefore believe it would be poffible to inrich the Natural History of our country with this new fpecies, by helping it to pass the feas or mountains, if it was proved that this luminous infect, by procuring fo pretty a fight in the evenings, wherever it should take up its abode, did not hurt the fruits of the earth preferably to that amusement. The BRITISH MUSE, containing original Poems, Songs, &c. The SNAKE and the WORM, a Fable. Qui fit Mecenas ut nemo quam fibi fortem, Seu ratio dederit, jeu fors objecerit, illa Contentus vivat ?. The boift'rous clown the worm alarm'd,' Prologue to the LAME LOVER, Prologues, like cards of compliment we Moft as unmeaning as politely kind; Or tell each critic, his approving taste Argues a conscious weakness in the cause, To grant applaufe, but if a dauber's hand If the group'd figures falfe connexions fhow, And glaring colours without meaning glow, Your wounded feelings, turn'd a different way, Will justly damn-th' abortion of a play. As Farquhar bas obferv'd, our English law, Like a fair spreading oak, the Muse should' draw, By fmiling equity and wisdom made At fuch to-night, with other legal game, To candour then he'll chearfully fubmit; T A SONG. HYRSIS, a young and am'rous Saw two, the beauties of the plain, With fofter magic drew. He haunts the ftream, he haunts the grove Lives in a fond romance of love, And feems for each to die ; Their envy made the shepherd find So fet the lover free: No more he haunts the grove or stream, Let either fix the dart. A HYMN to CONTENTMENT. Lovely, lafting peace of mind! Sweet delight of human kind! Ambition fearches all its sphere The The bold advent'rer ploughs his way, To range the circuit of the sky, Lovely, lafting Peace, appear! 'Twas thus, as under fhade I food, Oh! by yonder moffy feat, The fun that walks his airy way, Go, fearch among your idle dreams, An Evening Thought. Now WOW down the steep of heav'n the fource of day Purfues unwearied his diurnal way; Mild thine his rays, his beams ferene defcend, And o'er the earth a fweet effulgence fend. While filver Cynthia sheds her milder light, So when the lamp of life fhall dimly burn, And this frail frame to kindred duft fhall turn; May the rude ftrife of earth-born paffions ceafe, And life's fhort journey terminate in peace. May then no cares terreftrial break my reft, Or keen reflections difcompofe my breaft. May then no fear, no dread of ills to come, Make me fhrink back with terror from the tomb; But when the awful mandate from on high, The sentence shall proclaim that bids me die; Refign'd and peaceful let me bow my head, And heav'n enjoy when number'd with the dead. On TRUE and FALSE NOBILITY. TOT all that are accounted great N Deferve to bear that name: The wicked, tho' in highest seat, To Greatness have no claim. May decorate the outward veft, And tell us, There's an Earl ! A fervile world may cringe and bow, And homage pay to names; "Tis Virtue folid worth imparts, And dignifies the Peer: Ye Nobles, then! prepare your hearts, Written under a Lady's Name in a Windows. HREE brilliants fair Celinda grac'è, One from her fnowy finger blaz'd, The firft, which fhone with fainter rays, 25 |