National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-10-21
MatianaI gFpabIifaa
TIE MOSQUITO.

The mosquito seems to Be ubiquitous just
now, if we are 10 judge from the complaints Of
our correspondents, but We really don'i know
what TO do for their aggrieyed persons. They
actually write to q newspaper about this
trouble as If It were some social or municipal
evil, Ike the Beecher scandal, or the dirty
streets, or the Tammany ticket, which the
power Of the press might abolish or, It least.
alleviate. But the power Of the press has not
much weight with the mosquito. II one wers
put IN Bullock press, for instance, be would
sit on the 1yWheel and laugh AZ the engineer
II we thought editorial writing could cause
the blush Of shame to rise to bis cheek. We
should have tried e long ago; but argunient
has no effect upon him, nor Is even abuse Of
value. Inthis hardened contempt ofrsason, as
well as in other qualities, he resembles the
average politieian. Mosquitoes and politicians
! bite and sting and steal and buzz, and are too
insignificant andsmall to punish. You bring
down your hand heavily upon them, and When
you liz It again they are gone. You can hurt
your hand, but the insect escapes unharmed-
We did not create the mosquito, nor do we
know why he was created. But IN one respect
We recognize the wisdom Of Providence, and
that is that be IS made 80 small. This is ss
far as our sinful souls can 20 IN the way Of
gratitude In regard to the mosquito. and e
shows, we think, q religious disposition The
mosquito himself does not aid Us IN practicinE
the virtues, but, on the contrary, Is respon-
sible for much blasphemy, which, Il Is to be-
hoped, the recording angel viii blot out, as be
did Unlee Toby's oaths, with tear. In the
silence Of the night he comes and makes his
statement to the sleeping ear. This little horn
Is more terrible than the roar Of q lion, and
when 1t is heard we groan. Like the voice
IN Macbeth" it cries, 'Sleep no moreP to
all the house. It is then that the trouble be-
ina "a rwff1rr hat aTr,- =
With Wild beatings of the face aud head the
dreadful conflict begins; muttered oaths and
means ofwretehedness arise from tho wounded
and it is no consolation that blood must wine
out the deadly wrong, for whether you got the
better of the mosquito or he gets the better Of
YOU, you know that It viii be your own blood
The mosquito has no blood except what be
steals, but ne has immense capacity for hold
ing it.
The Chinese children are said to 20 to sleep
with lamps burning by their beds to attract
the mosquitoes from their parents, and the
force of flial piety could no further 90. But
this, we fear, Is heather fam, told to the
missionaries to induce them to 60 home, for In
such land religion would be superhuous. In
the United States the children have never paid
such respect to their parents, and, therefore,
We have had to depend upon nets. SanehO
PanZa said, blessed be the man who invented
Sleep" and It might be translated, "Blessed
be Jhe'man who invented mosquito bars, /" for
the two things are, in this climate, synony-
nous. The only time when 3 mosquito is
really agreeable is when he is outside Of the
net and you are inside of it., and YOU know t.
Then bis buzzing is musical as Is Apollo's lutte,
and in its solemn tOnes are heard the thanks
of millions yet to be. Spenser in his "Faeris
Queene" might have added the voice of the dis
gusted mosquito to the sounds which luIled
Morpheus in his slumberous cave. up and
down the net he hovers, with his melancholy
buzz, seeking vainly an entrance to the ban
quet within. The dish in this case defes the
diner. Now it is the time Of she mosquito to
swear, and his curses sound like serenades.
The more mosquitoes who join in the chorus
tenors, sopranos, baritones and bassOs-the
more harmonious it seems, and when morning
comes, bafied and hungry, the naddened
crowd fly to their bloodless lairs. If there e
anything mosquito hates It Is a net.
The scientific name of the mosquito Is CuIeE.
and 1t Is horrible name for horrible erea-
ture. The dictionary tells ut s'it has a sharp
pointed proboscis, BY means Of which It pune
lures the skins of animals and sucks their
blood, the minute wounds thus made beinE
often attended with swelling and consider
able degree Of pain" The dictionary is quite
right, but 1t IS not necessary to 20 to It to
learn these facts. Any one can convince him
self Of the accuracy Of the definition by leaV-
ing his net open at night. Our correspond
ents can profit BY the suggestion, and 50 can
Culex.-N. 7. Herald.