Béte-ni-Pié.
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,Beast-which-is-all-feet) ; anni'm créole signifying " o n l y , " and in such a sense " all." Abbreviated by subsequent usage to béte-'ni-pié, the appellation has amphibology ;— for there are two words ni in the patois, one signifying " to have," and the other " naked." So that the Creole for a centipede might be translated in three ways,—" the Beast-which-is-all-feet"; or, " t h e Naked-footed B e a s t " ; or, with fine irony of affirmation, " the Beast-which-hasfeet." II.
is the secret of that horror inspired by the centipede ? . . . It is but very faintly related to our knowledge that the creature is venomous ;—the results of the bite are only temporary swelling and a brief fever ;—it is less to be feared than the bite of other tropical insects and reptiles which never inspire the same loathing by their aspect. And the shapes of venomous creatures are not always shapes of ugliness. The serpent has elegance of form as well as attractions of metallic tinti n g ; — t h e tarantula, or the matoutou-falaise, have geometrical beauty. Lapidaries have in all ages expended rare skill upon imitations of serpent grace in gold and gems ;—a princess would not scorn to wear a diamond spider. But what art could utilize successfully the form of the- centipede ? It is a form of absolute repulsiveness,—a skeleton-shape half defined :—the suggestion of some old reptile-spine astir, crawling with its fragments of ribs. WHAT
N o other living thing excites exactly the same feeling produced by the sight of the centipede,—the intense loathing and peculiar fear. T h e instant you see a centipede you feel it is absolutely necessary to kill it ; you cannot find peace in your house while you know that such a life exists in it : perhaps the intrusion of a serpent would annoy and disgust you less. And it is not