ERAMPTON-AMONG-THE-ROSES.
 badly-drained towns. Even when their hives are- too
 hot they know how to cool them, and will set to beat-
 ing their wings until they raise a cool current of air,
 which is as refreshing as the shadow of a tree beside
 a rapid brook.
 She also admired the dragon-flies, and used to tell
 the country children that they were wrong in calling
 them horse-stingers," for they have no stings, though
 their green-blue and golden-coloured bodies were
 often as long as her forefinger, and there is nothing
 in the insect world that attracts the eye more than a
 full-grown dragon-fly on the wing. Neither by the
 loom, nor by the hand, can such beautiful gauze be
 produced as that which forms their wings, for the
 meshes are so fine that you cannot see the network of
 the texture without a powerful glass, though they are
 so transparent. As for eyes, they are so large as to
 fill a great part of the head, and have great gold and
 ruby rings all round them, and can just see as well
 behind them as they can before, and on each side.
 Nor do they ever turn round when they want to fly
 back, for tail first or head first is all one to them; and
 it was great amusement to Christabel to watch the
 birds chasing the dragon-flies, for when the bird made
 sure he had him, and was just going to open his beak
 for the fatal snap, the dragon-fly would set all sail
 without once turning himself, and be a long way ahead
 before his enemy had steered round, and was once
 more in pursuit.
 Then she found a little hillock of fine earth thrown
up, very small at first, and when she asked old Jacob
what it was, he told her it was an ant-hill, and was
caused by the ants underground making a nest in
which to lay their eggs, and rear their young, and
that she would see scores of them going to and fro and