THE LAKE OF CONSTAKZ, ETC.

331

or simpletonic quality which English young gentlcmen dc-Iight to dcnominatc as " verdant," and that often their ac-knowledged savans devote their whole lives to the study ofthe most frivolous subjects.

Once we were introduced to a German Weiser, who, aTeutonic friend assured us, bore a high reputation in theRhenish provinces. We naturally begged to bo informedto what point of science he directed his attention. Was itAstronomy, we wondered, by which he sought to fathom theinfinite ocean of space ? Or was it Geology that he studied,in order to read the wondrous story of creation graven on theeverlasting tablets of the rocks? Or was it Physiology thathe was striving to unriddle, so as to get even a glimpse into theprofound mysteries of life and organism? or Chemistry? orMechanics? or BotanyV

No! it was none of these. Neither the stars, nor therocks, nor the flowers, nor human life interested him: only—Cockchafers !

He was, we were assured, the greatest " Coleopterist" — orrather cockchaferist, in all the world*

IntorpalaM ||mis| Sraws.

(14.)

THE LAKE OF CONSTANZ AND ISLANDS OF MAINAU ANDREICHENAU.

The Lake of Constanz (Germ. Boden See) and the Lake ofLeman are the two frontier-lakes of Switzerland, and thatof Constanz performs for the Rhine the same process of fil-tration as that of Leman effects for the Rhone. The Rhine