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136
My Studio Neighbors
·
W. Hamilton Gibson
83
Carefully
stealing
through
the
tall
grass,
I
now
approached
to
within
touching
distance
of
the
haunt,
and
was
soon
lost
in
mingled
wonder,
amusement,
and
surprise
at
the
picnic
now
disclosed,
the
occasional
butterfly
swarm
being
now
easily
explained.
From
my
first
point
of
view
only
the
top
of
the
bramble
spray
was
visible
above
the
grass,
and
by
far
the
most
interesting
portion
of
the
exercises
had
been
concealed
from
view.
The
butterflies,
while
naturally
the
most
conspicuous
element,
were
now
seen
to
be
in
a
small
minority
among
the
insect
gathering,
the
bramble
leaves
being
peopled
with
a
most
motley
and
democratic
assemblage
of
insects.
Class
distinctions
were
apparently
forgotten
in
the
common
enthusiasm;
the
plebeian
bluebottle
and
blowfly
now
consorted
with
Aphrodite
and
sipped
at
the
same
drop.
Many
a
leaf
was
begemmed
with
the
blue
bodies
closely
set
side
by
side
or
in
a
close
cluster.
The
meat-fly,
house-fly,
and
horse-fly
made
themselves
promiscuous
in
every
portion
of
the
spray,
and
what
with
the
rainbow-eyed
and
ruby-eyed
flies,
black
and
silver-banded
flower-flies,
and
other
tiny,
restless,
iridescent
atoms
of
the
fly
fraternity,
the
family
of
Musca
was
well
represented
at
the
feast.
Nor
were
these
all
the
guests
at
the
banquet--for
banquet
there
certainly
was,
judging
from
the
eager
sipping
and
crowding
everywhere
upon
the
leaves,
the
flowers
even
yet,
as
I
first
noticed,
seeming
to
have
little
attraction.
I
have
no
direct
means
of
knowing
as
to
the
social
discrimination
of
the
host
as
shown
in
the
entertainment,
for
that
invitations
were
issued
the
subsequent
facts
would
show.
But
I
have
good
reasons
for
believing,
from
the
course
of
events,
that
the
gathering
included
a
number
of
questionable
personages
that
were
not
counted
upon.
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