65. A battle in a micros∣cope be∣tween a louse and a flea.

The first that was brought on the stage was the flea, and to shew us what an active one he was, he sprung and bounced at a strange rate: the velocity of his motions in leaping, were astonishing; and sometimes, he would tumble over and over in a wanton way: but the moment the louse appeared, he stood stock still, gathered himself up, and fixed his flashing eyes on his foe. The gal∣lant louse did with a frown for some time be∣hold him, and then crouching down, began very softly to move towards him, when the flea gave a leap on his enemy, and with his dangerous tail and pinching mouth, began the battle with great fury: but the louse soon made him quit his hold, by hurting him with his claws, and wounding him with his sharp snout. This made the flea skip to the other side of the box, and they both kept at a distance for near a minute, looking with great indignation at each other, and offering several times to advance. The louse did it at last in a race, and then the flea flew at him, which produced a battle as terrible as Page  339ever was fought by two wild beasts. Every part of their bodies were in most violent mo∣tion, and sometimes the flea was uppermost, but more frequently the louse. They did bite, and thrust, and claw one another most furiously, and the consequence of the dread∣ful engagement was, that the flea expired, and the louse remained victor in the box: but he was so much wounded, that he could scarce walk.—This battle was to me a very surprizing thing, as each of them was mag∣nified to the size of two feet: But consider∣ing what specs or atoms of animated matter they were, it was astonishing to reflexion to behold the amazing mechanism of these two minute things, which appeared in their exer∣tions during the fray. It was still more strange to see the aversion these small crea∣tures had to each other, the passions that worked in their little breasts, and the judge∣ment they shewed in their endeavours to de∣stroy one another. It is indeed a wonderful affair: nor was it the least part of my admi∣ration to see through the extraordinary trans∣parencies of the louse, the violent circulation of the blood in its heart. This was as plane to my eye, as red liquor forced by a pump in several experiments through circulating glass pipes.—As to the dead flea, it was opened, and by the camera obscura or solar microscope, (which magnifies the picture of Page  340such a body as a flea, to eight feet) (28) we saw the intestines distinguished and arranged in a manner that cannot be enough admired. It was full of eggs, and in every egg were many half-formed young ones.