Chapter I.--Swammerdam.

The secret of the Insect World first discovered by Swammerdam, 129 A comparison instituted between him and Galileo, 130 His early years, his favourite occupations, and his collections of insects, 131, 132 To assist him in his investigations he invented the microscope, 133 His patient labours rewarded by great discoveries, 134 Yet in his own country he was not honoured; it was in France that his work met with due appreciation, 135 Ardent devotion to science brings on premature decay, 136 Dark clouds overcast his later years, 137 He died at the age of three and forty, 138 His work is carried on by Leuwenhoek and Malpighi, 139