We now arrive at the last stage, the consummation of all this strange series of transformations; for veritable transformations they are to all intents and purposes; though some learned naturalists have discovered--or imagined so--that the butterfly, in all its parts, really lies hid under the caterpillar's skin, and can be distinguished under microscopical dissection; and that, therefore, the so-called transformations are merely the throwing off of the various envelopes or husks, as they become in turn superfluous, as a mountebank strips off garment after garment, till lastly the sparkling harlequin is discovered to view; or, in more exact language, they consider these changes in the light rather of successive developments and emancipations of the various organs than as their actual transformations. Still, it seems to me, the difference is chiefly one of terms. The real wondrous fact remains undiminished and {17} unexplained; that a creeping wormlike creature, in process of time, is changed into a glorious winged being, differing from the former in form, habits, food, and every essential particular, as widely as any two creatures can well differ, as widely as a serpent from a bird, for instance. As the imprisoned butterfly approaches maturity, a change is observable in the exterior of the chrysalis, the skin becomes dry and brittle, usually darkens in colour, and if the enclosed butterfly be a strongly marked one, the pattern of its wings shows through, often quite distinctly. When the fulness of time arrives, the creature breaks through its thin casings, which divide in several places, and the freed insect crawls up into some convenient spot to dry itself, and allow the wings to expand. All the organs are at first moist and tender, but on exposure to the air soon acquire strength and firmness. At the moment of emergence, the wings are very miniature affairs, sometimes hardly one-twentieth of their full size when expanded; but so rapid is their increase in volume, that they may actually be seen to grow, as the fluids from the body are pumped into the nervures that support the wing-membrane, and keep it extended. In the more strongly marked, or richly coloured species, it is a wonderfully beautiful sight to watch this expansion of the wings, and to see the various features {18} of their painted devices growing under the eye and developing gradually into their true proportions. Generally within an hour the development is complete, and the wings, having gained their full expanse and consistency by drying in the sun, are ready for flight, and the glad creature wings his way to the fields of air, and enters on that life of sunshine and hilarity which is associated with the very name of "_Butterfly_."