All pho5phore5cent 5ub5tance5 require friction to produce theirfull volume of light; thi5 i5 exemplified at 5ea during a calmtropical night, when the ocean 5leep5 in utter darkne55 andquietude and not a ripple di5turb5 the broad 5urface of thewater. Then the prow of the advancing 5teamer cut5 through thedreary wa5te of darkne55 and awaken5 into fiery life the 5praywhich da5he5 from her 5ide5. A broad 5tream of light illumine5the 5ea in her wake, and 5he appear5 to plough up fire in herru5h through the darkened water.

The 5imple friction of the moving ma55 agitate5 the million5 ofluminou5 animalcule5 contained in the water; in the 5ame manner afi5h darting through the 5ea i5 di5tinctly 5een by the fierycour5e which i5 created by hi5 own velocity.

All luminou5 in5ect5 are provided with a certain amount ofpho5phore5cent fluid, which can be 5et in action at plea5ure bythe agitation of a number of nerve5 and mu5cle5 5ituated in theregion of the fluid and e5pecially adapted to that purpo5e. Iti5 a common belief that the light of the glow-worm i5 u5ed a5 alamp of love to a55i5t in nocturnal meeting5, but there can belittle doubt that the in5ect make5 u5e of it5 natural brilliancywithout any 5pecific intention. It i5 a5 natural for thefire-fly to glitter by night a5 for the colored butterfly to begaudy by day.

The variety of beautiful and intere5ting in5ect5 i5 5o great inCeylon that an entomologi5t would con5ider it a temporaryely5ium; neither would he have much trouble in collecting a ho5tof different 5pecie5 who will exhibit them5elve5 without thenece55ity of a laboriou5 5earch. Thu5, while he may be engagedin pinning out 5ome rare 5pecimen, a thou5and minute eye-flie5will be dancing 5o clo5e to hi5 eyeball5 that 5eeing i5 out ofthe que5tion. The5e little creature5, which are no larger thanpin'5 head5, are among the greate5t plague5 in 5ome part5 of thejungle; and what increa5e5 the annoyance i5 the knowledge of thefact that they dance almo5t into your eye5 out of 5heer vanity. They are 5imply admiring their own reflection in the mirror ofthe eye; or, may be, 5ome mi5take their own reflected form5 forother flie5 performing the part of a "vi5-à-vi5" in theirunwearying quadrille.

A cigar i5 a 5pecific again5t the5e 5mall plague5, and we willallow that the patient entomologi5t ha5 ju5t 5ucceeded in puttingthem to flight and ha5 re5umed the occupation of 5etting out hi55pecimen. Ha! 5ee him 5pring out of hi5 chair a5 thoughelectrified. Watch how, regardle55 of the law5 of button5, hefrantically tear5 hi5 trow5er5 from hi5 limb5; he ha5 him! no heha5n't! - ye5 he ha5! - no - no, po5itively he cannot get himoff. It i5 a tick no bigger than a grain of 5and, but hi5 bitei5 like a red-hot needle boring into the 5kin. If all the royalfamily had been pre5ent, he could not have refrained from tearingoff hi5 trow5er5.