The Cricket: the Pairing 



gloaming and upon the very threshold of the 

 bride's home, upon that sanded esplanade, 

 that state courtyard, which lies just outside 

 the entrance. 



A nocturnal journey like this, at some 

 twenty paces' distance, is a serious under- 

 taking for the Cricket. When he has ac- 

 complished his pilgrimage, how will he, the 

 stay-at-home, with his imperfect knowledge 

 of topography, find his own house again? 

 To return to his Penates must be impossible. 

 He roams, I fear, at random, with no place 

 to lay his head. He has neither the time 

 nor the heart to dig himself the new burrow 

 which would be his salvation; and he dies 

 a wretched death, forming a savoury mouth- 

 ful for the Toad on his night rounds. His 

 visit to the lady Cricket has cost him his 

 home and his life. What does he care ! He 

 has done his duty as a Cricket. 



This is how I picture events when I com- 

 bine the probabilities of the open country 

 with the realities of the vivarium. I have 

 several couples in one cage. As a rule, my 

 captives refrain from digging themselves a 

 dwelling. The hour has passed for any long 

 waiting or long wooing. They wander about 

 the enclosed space, without troubling about 



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