LOCUSTS 



it is good without, however, feeling any desire for 

 more. 



ii 



THEIR MUSICAL TALENT 



The Locust possesses musical powers wherewith to 

 express his joys. Consider him at rest, blissfully digest- 

 ing his meal and enjoying the sunshine. With sharp 

 strokes of the bow, three or four times repeated with a 

 pause between, he plays his tune. He scrapes his sides 

 with his great hind-legs, using now one, now the other, 

 and now both at a time. 



The result is very poor, so slight indeed that I am 

 obliged to make use of little Paul's sharp ear to make 

 sure that there is a sound at all. Such as it is, it is like 

 the squeaking of a needle-point pushed across a sheet of 

 paper. Their you have the whole song, which is very 

 nearly silence. 



We can expect no more than this from the Locust's 

 very unfinished instrument. There is nothing here like 

 the Cricket's toothed bow and sounding-board. The 

 lower edge of the wing-cases is rubbed by the thighs, but 

 though both wing-cases and thighs are powerful they have 

 no roughnesses to supply friction, and there is no sign of 

 teeth. 



This artless attempt at a musical instrument can pro- 



[233] 



