CH. XII.] THE LOCUST, ETC. 169 



Arabs put into the mouth of the locust. The Mo- 

 hammedans say, 'that after God had created man 

 from clay, of that which was left he made the lo- 

 cust. The feeling which the Arabs entertain of 

 this insect is well shown in the description they 

 give of its pedigree and person. It has the head of 

 the horse, the horns of the stag, the eye of the ele- 

 phant, the neck of the ox, the breast of the lion, the 

 body of the scorpion, the hip of the camel, the legs 

 of the stork, the wings of the eagle, and the tail of 

 the dragon. 



The wings of some being spotted, were thought 

 by many to be leaves from the book of fate, in 

 which letters announcing the destiny of nations 

 were to be read- 



Much of this description is quite oriental, but such 

 is the general resemblance to some of the animals 

 mentioned, that in Germany one of its names is 

 grass-horse, and in Italy it is still termed cavalletta. 

 About its neck, too, the integuments have some re- 

 semblance to the trappings of a horse, though 

 other species have the appearance of being hooded. 



Paul Jetzote, professor of Greek literature at 

 the Gymnasium of Stettin, wrote a work on the 

 meaning of the three letters, which were, according 

 to him, to be seen on the wings of those locusts 

 which visited Silesia in 1712. These letters were 

 B. E. S., and formed the initials of the Latin words 

 ; " Bella Erunt Saeva," or " Babel Est Solitudo ;" also 

 the German words, "Bedeutet Erschreckliche 

 Schlacten," portending frightful battles, " Bedeutet 

 und Erfreuliche Siege," portending happy victories. 

 There are Greek and Hebrew sentences, in which 

 no doubt the professor showed as much learning, 

 judgment, and spirit of prophecy, as in those already 

 quoted. 



Not content with the dreadful presence of this 

 plague, the inhabitants of most countries took that 

 opportunity of adding to their present misery by 



Vol. II.— P 



