A brief reference to the text-books almost convinced me that this was a cocoon of the _Bombyx quercus_.[4] If so, what a find! I could continue my inquiry and perhaps confirm what my study of the Great Peacock had made me suspect.
The Bombyx of the oak-tree is, in fact, a classic moth; indeed, there is no entomological text-book but speaks of its exploits at mating-time.

It is said that a female emerged from the pupa in captivity, in the interior of an apartment, and even in a closed box.

It was far from the country, amidst the tumult of a large city.

Nevertheless, the event was known to those concerned in the woods and meadows.

Guided by some mysterious compass, the males arrived, hastening from the distant fields; they went to the box, fluttered against it, and flew to and fro in the room.
These marvels I had learned by reading; but to see such a thing with one's own eyes, and at the same time to devise experiments, is quite another thing.