"'In the meanwhile an accident happened, out of which he conceived he had collected the true cause thereof. For, some months before, he shut up in a box a certain palmer-worm which he had found, rare for its bigness and form; which, when he had forgotten, he heard a buzzing in the box, and when he opened it, found the palmer-worm, having cast its coat, to be turned into a beautiful Butterfly, which presently flew away, leaving in the bottom of the box a red drop as broad as an ordinary sous or shilling; and because this happened about the beginning of the same month and about the same time an incredible multitude of Butterflies were observed flying in the air, he was therefore of opinion that such kind of Butterflies resting on the walls had there shed such like drops, and of the same bigness. Whereupon, he went the second time, and found, by experience, that those drops were not to be found on the housetops, nor upon the round sides of the stones which stuck out, as it would have happened, if blood had fallen from the sky, but rather where the stones were somewhat hollowed, and in holes, where such small creatures might shroud and nestle themselves. Moreover, the walls which were so spotted, were not in the middle of towns, but they were such as bordered upon the fields, nor were they on the highest parts, but only so moderately high as Butterflies are commonly wont to fly.
"'Thus, therefore, he interpreted that which Gregory of Tours relates touching a bloody rain seen at Paris in divers places, in the days of Childebert, and on a certain house in the territory of Senlis; also that which is storied, touching raining of blood about the end of June, in the days of King Robert; so that the blood which fell upon flesh, garments or stones could not be washed out, but that which fell on wood might; for it was the same season of Butterflies, and experience hath taught us, that no water will wash these spots out of the stones, while they are fresh and new. When he had said these and such like things to various, a great company of auditors being present, it was agreed that they should go together and search out the matter, and as they went up and down, here and there, through the fields, they found many drops upon stones and rocks; but they were only on the hollow and under parts of the stones, but not upon those which lay most open to the skies.'
"This memorable shower of blood was produced by the Vanessa urticæ or V. polychloros, most probably, since these species of butterflies are said to have been uncommonly plentiful at the time when, and in the particular district where, the phenomenon was observed."
Frank Cowan, Curious History of Insects.
FOR A DESIGN OF A BUTTERFLY RESTING ON A SKULL
"Creature of air and light, Emblem of that which may not fade or die, Wilt thou not speed thy flight, To chase the south wind through the glowing sky? What lures thee thus to stay, With Silence and Decay, Fix'd on the wreck of cold Mortality? "The thoughts once chamber'd there Have gather'd up their treasures, and are gone— Will the dust tell us where They that have burst the prison-house are flown? Rise, nursling of the day, If thou wouldst trace their way— Earth hath no voice to make the secret known. "Who seeks the vanish'd bird By the forsaken nest and broken shell?— Far thence he sings unheard, Yet free and joyous in the woods to dwell. Thou of the sunshine born, Take the bright wings of morn! Thy hope calls heavenward from yon ruin'd cell."
Mrs. Heman.