"A Correspondent of 'the Field' records an experiment which he made with a wasp. 'Having,' he says, 'severed a wasp in two pieces, I found that the head and thorax with the uninjured wings retained full vitality.... It tried to fly, but evidently lacked the necessary balance through the loss of the abdomen. To test the matter further, I cut out an artificial tail from a piece of thin cardboard, as nearly following the shape of the natural body as possible. To fasten the appendage to the wasp, I used a little oxgall ...; gum or more sticky substances would not do, as it impedes the use of the wings in flight. Presently the operation was complete, and, to my surprise, the wasp, after one or two ineffectual efforts, flew in rather lopsided fashion to the window. It then buzzed about for at least a quarter of an hour, eventually flying out at the top ... it was vigorous when it flew away."—Extract from an Evening Paper.
| The Benefit of Humour in Philosophy. | Philosophers can always do more Assisted by a sense of humour: Witness the droll experiment Of this same scientific gent. For he, his frugal breakfast finishing, (The eggs and bacon fast diminishing) Noted how o'er his marmalade A Wasp was buzzing undismayed. |
| General Reflection: Attitude of Man towards the Wasp. | We all are apt to be inhosp- Itable to the humble Wasp— That Ishmael of domestic insects, The terror of the feminine sex! |
| The Philosopher shares the prevailing Prejudice. | And our Philosopher, though
cool, Was no exception to the rule. |
| His Method. | He let it settle on his plate; He poised a knife above—like Fate. |
| The Blow falls. | Next—with a sudden flash it
drops Right on that unsuspecting Wopse! Which, unprepared by previous omen, |
| A Tragic Meeting. | Awestruck, confronts its own
abdomen! And sees its once attached tail-end dance A brisk pas-seul of independence! A pang more bitter than before racks |
| Dignified Behaviour of the Wopse. | That righteously indignant
thorax, As proudly (yet with perfect taste) It turns its back upon its waist, And seeks, though life must all begin new, "Business as usual" to continue! |
| A Philosopher's Remorse. | The Man of Science felt his
heart Prick him with self-accusing smart, To see that ineffectual torso Go fluttering about the floor so; |
| The Uses of a Scientific Education. | A wasp for flight is too
lopsided. So, with remorsefulness acute, |
| Reparation. | He rigged it up a substitute; Providing it a new posterior, At least as good—if not superior. |
| His Process. | He cut it out a tail of card, And stuck it on with ox-gall, hard. (This he prefers to vulgar glue) And made that Wopse as good as new! |
| Forgiveness. | Until the grateful insect soared Away, with self-respect restored To find that mutilated part of his Had been so well replaced by artifice. |
| Further proceedings of the Philosopher. | The Scientist, again complacent, To pen and ink and paper hastened, And, in a letter to the Field, Told how the Wasp, though halved, was healed, And how, despite a treatment rigorous, It left consoled—and even vigorous! |
| Moral. | The Moral—here this poem
stops—is 'Tis ne'er too late for mending Wopses! |
A "CUTTING" OBSERVATION.—This is from the Daily Graphic:—
GENERALS.—TWO WANTED to do the work of a small house; £14-£18; for two in family; easy place, early dinners; very little company.
How sad! At how low an ebb has our Army arrived under recent mal-administration! In time we may have even "Our Only General" himself advertising for a place, or answering an advertisement like the above. Not much "company drill"; so, if easy, it will be dull.
